Spontaneous curvature of fluid vesicles induced by trans-bilayer sugar asymmetry

• DOI: 10.1007/s002490050197
• Publication Date: 2002-08-25T07:47:25Z
• Authors: Hans-Günther Döbe...; Olaf Selchow; Reinhard Lipowsky
• Keywords: Membrane Curvature; Elasticity

We present measurements of the effective spon- taneous curvature of fluid lipid bilayers as a function of trans-bilayer asymmetry. Experiments are performed on micrometer-scale vesicles in sugar solutions with varying species across the membrane. There are two effects lead- ing to a preferred curvature of such a vesicle. The sponta- neous curvatures of the two monolayers as well as their area difference combine into an effective spontaneous cur- vature of the membrane. Our technique for measuring this parameter allows us to use vesicle morphology as a probe for general membrane-solute interactions affecting elastic- ity.