Measuring Gaussian Rigidity Using Curved Substrates.
Phys Rev Lett
; 125(18): 188002, 2020 Oct 30.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33196252
ABSTRACT
The Gaussian (saddle splay) rigidity of fluid membranes controls their equilibrium topology but is notoriously difficult to measure. In lipid mixtures, typical of living cells, linear interfaces separate liquid ordered (LO) from liquid disordered (LD) bilayer phases at subcritical temperatures. Here, we consider such membranes supported by curved substrates that thereby control the membrane curvatures. We show how spectral analysis of the fluctuations of the LO-LD interface provides a novel way of measuring the difference in Gaussian rigidity between the two phases. We provide a number of conditions for such interface fluctuations to be both experimentally measurable and sufficiently sensitive to the value of the Gaussian rigidity, while remaining in the perturbative regime of our analysis.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Cell Membrane
/
Lipid Bilayers
/
Models, Chemical
Language:
En
Journal:
Phys Rev Lett
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article