Simulations of flexible membranes using a coarse-grained particle-based model with spontaneous curvature variables

Tamotsu Kohyama

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2009, vol. 388, issue 17, 3334-3344

Abstract: We propose a simple mathematical model for lipid bilayer membranes of flexible fluid or solid state. The model consists of interacting coarse-grained particles with two extra variables. One indicates the spontaneous curvature at the particle position, and the other indicates the vector representing the direction normal to the membrane. When the spontaneous curvature variable is allowed to fluctuate significantly, the fluctuation causes a softening of the membrane and growth of large undulations as the amplitude of the fluctuation is increased. By changing the amplitude of the fluctuation in simulations, the bending rigidity of the membrane can be easily controlled. Because the proposed model includes anisotropic interactions between the particles, multilayered vesicles can be obtained through a reversible transition by weakening the strength of the anisotropic interactions.

Keywords: Coarse-graining; Particle-based model; Membranes; Vesicles; Tunable bending rigidity; Spontaneous curvature; Solid–fluid transition; Multilayer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437109003756
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:388:y:2009:i:17:p:3334-3344

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2009.05.011

Access Statistics for this article

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications is currently edited by K. A. Dawson, J. O. Indekeu, H.E. Stanley and C. Tsallis

More articles in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().