The influence of curvature on membrane domains

Jeremy Pencer, Andrew Jackson, Norbert Kučerka, Mu Ping Nieh, John Katsaras

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

An interdependence between local curvature and domain formation has been observed in both cell and model membranes. An implication of this observation is that domain formation in model membranes may be modulated by membrane curvature. In this paper, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is used to examine the influence of membrane curvature (i.e., vesicle size) on the formation of membrane domains. It is found that, although vesicle size and polydispersity are not significantly altered by the formation of membrane domains, the area fraction occupied by domains depends on the overall vesicle size. In particular, increasing membrane curvature (i.e., decreasing vesicle size) results in increased area fractions of membrane domains.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)665-671
Number of pages7
JournalEuropean Biophysics Journal
Volume37
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2008
Externally publishedYes

Funding

Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge Vini Ang-hel and Thalia Mills for valuable and enjoyable discussions. This work utilized facilities supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. DMR-0454672. We acknowledge the support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, in providing the neutron research facilities used in this work. Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials (or suppliers, or software, ...) are identified in this paper to foster understanding. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

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