van der Wel, C;
Vahid, A;
Saric, A;
Idema, T;
Heinrich, D;
Kraft, DJ;
(2016)
Lipid membrane-mediated attraction between curvature inducing objects.
Scientific Reports
, 6
, Article 32825. 10.1038/srep32825.
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Abstract
The interplay of membrane proteins is vital for many biological processes, such as cellular transport, cell division, and signal transduction between nerve cells. Theoretical considerations have led to the idea that the membrane itself mediates protein self-organization in these processes through minimization of membrane curvature energy. Here, we present a combined experimental and numerical study in which we quantify these interactions directly for the first time. In our experimental model system we control the deformation of a lipid membrane by adhering colloidal particles. Using confocal microscopy, we establish that these membrane deformations cause an attractive interaction force leading to reversible binding. The attraction extends over 2.5 times the particle diameter and has a strength of three times the thermal energy (−3.3 kBT). Coarse-grained Monte-Carlo simulations of the system are in excellent agreement with the experimental results and prove that the measured interaction is independent of length scale. Our combined experimental and numerical results reveal membrane curvature as a common physical origin for interactions between any membrane-deforming objects, from nanometre-sized proteins to micrometre-sized particles.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Lipid membrane-mediated attraction between curvature inducing objects |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/srep32825 |
| Publisher version: | http://doi.org/10.1038/srep32825 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © The Author(s) 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Multidisciplinary Sciences, Science & Technology - Other Topics, GIANT UNILAMELLAR VESICLES, CAPILLARY MIGRATION, POLYETHYLENE-GLYCOL, PARTICLES, AGGREGATION, PROTEINS, NANOPARTICLES, MICROSPHERES, INCLUSIONS, SURFACES |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1520839 |
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