Limiting shapes of confined lipid vesicles. Issue 4 (10th January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kavčič, B.; Sakashita, A.; Noguchi, H.; Ziherl, P.
• Is Part Of: Soft matter. Volume 15:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 602
• Page End: 614
• Publication Date: 2019-01-10
• Subjects: Soft condensed matter -- Periodicals; 530.413
• DOI: 10.1039/c8sm01956h
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-683X

Abstract

Abstract : We propose a model of severely confined vesicles which may be used to interpret the structure of some cell organelles. Abstract : We theoretically study the shapes of lipid vesicles confined to a spherical cavity, elaborating a framework based on the so-called limiting shapes constructed from geometrically simple structural elements such as double-membrane walls and edges. Partly inspired by numerical results, the proposed non-compartmentalized and compartmentalized limiting shapes are arranged in the bilayer-couple phase diagram which is then compared to its free-vesicle counterpart. We also compute the area-difference-elasticity phase diagram of the limiting shapes and we use it to interpret shape transitions experimentally observed in vesicles confined within another vesicle. The limiting-shape framework may be generalized to theoretically investigate the structure of certain cell organelles such as the mitochondrion.