Scaling of Lipid Membrane Rigidity with Domain Area Fraction

Published

February 21, 2019

Author(s)

Elizabeth G. Kelley, Michihiro Nagao, Paul D. Butler

Abstract

The elastic properties of cell membranes play a vital role in controlling the morphology changes necessary for cell processes such as endocytosis and cell division. These elastic properties are highly sensitive to the lipid composition and distribution within the membrane, as phase separation into coexisting lipid domains has been predicted to modulate the macroscopic membrane mechanical properties that are essential to cell function. Here we use neutron spin echo spectroscopy to show that the effective bending moduli, κeff, of model lipid membranes with coexisting gel and fluid domains directly depends on the area fraction of the gel phase. Our experimental results are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions for heterogeneous lipid membranes and have important implications for understanding the effects of rigid inhomogeneties, such as lipid domains and integral membrane proteins, on the elasticity of biological membranes.

Citation

Soft Matter

Volume

15

Issue

13

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sm02362j

Local Download

Keywords

lipid membranes, domains, phase coexistence, bending modulus, elasticity, neutron spin echo spectroscopy

Citation

Kelley, E. , Nagao, M. and Butler, P. (2019), Scaling of Lipid Membrane Rigidity with Domain Area Fraction, Soft Matter, [online], https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sm02362j (Accessed April 19, 2024)