Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published November 2011 | public
Journal Article

Mechanics of membrane-membrane adhesion

Abstract

Curvature elasticity is used to derive the equilibrium conditions that govern the mechanics of membrane–membrane adhesion. These include the Euler–Lagrange equations and the interface conditions which are derived here for the most general class of strain energies permissible for fluid surfaces. The theory is specialized for homogeneous membranes with quadratic 'Helfrich'-type energies with non-uniform spontaneous curvatures. The results are employed to solve four-point boundary value problems that simulate the equilibrium shapes of lipid vesicles that adhere to each other. Numerical studies are conducted to investigate the effect of relative sizes, osmotic pressures, and adhesion-induced spontaneous curvature on the morphology of adhered vesicles.

Additional Information

© 2011 The Author(s). Received 10 January 2011; accepted 27 January 2011. Published online before print May 13, 2011. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The majority of this work was carried OUI during the author's stay at the University of Houston. The author thanks Professor David Steigmann for insightful discussions.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 24, 2023