Related papers: Flexoelectricity and the Entropic Force between Fl…
Membrane tubes (spicules) arise in cells, or artificial membranes, in the nonlinear deformation regime due to, e.g. the growth of microtubules, actin filaments or sickle hemoglobin fibers towards a membrane. We calculate the axial force…
The glassy cytoplasm, crowded with bio-macromolecules, is fluidized in living cells by mechanical energy derived from metabolism. Characterizing the living cytoplasm as a non-equilibrium system is crucial in elucidating the intricate…
The interaction of fluid membranes with a scaffold, which can be a planar surface or a more complex structure, is intrinsic to a number of systems - from artificial supported bilayers and vesicles to cellular membranes. In principle, these…
Self-trapping of an electron due to its interaction with bending fluctuations in a flexible crystalline membrane is considered. Due to the dependence of the electron energy on the corrugations of the membrane, the electron can create around…
The effects of dipolar interactions and molecular flexibility on the structure and phase behavior of bent-core molecular fluids are studied using Monte Carlo computer simulations. Some calculations of flexoelectric coefficients are also…
We investigate the effect on biomembrane mechanical properties due to the presence an external potential for a non-conductive non-compressible membrane surrounded by different electrolytes. By solving the Debye-Huckel and Laplace equations…
A study is made of how active membrane proteins can modify the long wavelength mechanics of fluid membranes. The activity of the proteins is modelled as disturbing the protein surroundings through non-local force distributions of which a…
Two-dimensional crystalline membranes have recently been realized experimentally in such systems as graphene and molybdenum disulfide, sparking a resurgence in interest in their statistical properties. Thermal fluctuations can significantly…
We calculate the fluctuation spectrum of the shape of a lipid vesicle or cell exposed to a nonthermal source of noise. In particular we take into account constraints on the membrane area and the volume of fluid that it encapsulates when…
Constancy of life vitally depends on the internalization of particles through biomembranes. Of particular interest, cellular uptake, including phagocytosis, receptor-mediated endocytosis, and membrane fusion, critically depends on the…
In an adiabatically shielded system the total enthalpy is conserved. Enthalpy fluctuations of an arbitrarily chosen subsystem must be buffered by the remainder of the total system which serves as a heat reservoir. The magnitude of these…
We study the entropic force due to a fluctuating semiflexible polymer that is grafted from one end and confined by a rigid and rough wall from the other end. We show how roughness of the wall modifies the entropic force. In addition to the…
We study theoretically and numerically the coupling and rotational hydrodynamic interactions between spherical particles near a planar elastic membrane that exhibits resistance towards shear and bending. Using a combination of the multipole…
We consider the interaction between two rods embedded in a fluctuating surface which is governed by either surface tension or rigidity. The modification of fluctuations by the rods leads to an attractive long-range interaction that falls…
We consider how membrane fluctuations can modify the miscibility of lipid mixtures, that is to say how the phase diagram of a boundary-constrained membrane is modified when the membrane is allowed to fluctuate freely in the case of zero…
Fluctuation spectra of fluid compound membrane systems are calculated. The systems addressed contain two (or more) almost parallel membranes that are connected by harmonic tethers or by a continuous, harmonic confining potential.…
A flexible membrane deforming its shape in time can self-propel in a viscous fluid. Alternatively, if the membrane is anchored, its deformation will lead to fluid transport. Past work in this area focused on situations where the deformation…
Thermal fluctuations are important for amphiphilic bilayer membranes since typical bending stiffnesses can be a few $k_B T$. The rod-like constituent molecules are generically tilted with respect to the local normal for packing reasons. We…
Microorganisms are rarely found in Nature swimming freely in an unbounded fluid. Instead, they typically encounter other organisms, hard walls, or deformable boundaries such as free interfaces or membranes. Hydrodynamic interactions between…
The dynamics of a spheroidal vesicle, bounded by an inextensible membrane, is analyzed in function of the enclosed fluid viscosity, and of the membrane mechanical properties. The two situations in which a bending rigidity and a shear…