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arXiv · 1602.01802

Long-range attraction of particles adhered to lipid vesicles

Raphael Sarfati·Eric R. Dufresne
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Abstract

Many biological systems fold thin sheets of lipid membrane into complex three-dimensional structures. This microscopic origami is often mediated by the adsorption and self-assembly of proteins on a membrane. As a model system to study adsorption-mediated interactions, we study the collective behavior of micrometric particles adhered to a lipid vesicle. We estimate the colloidal interactions using a maximum likelihood analysis of particle trajectories. When the particles are highly wrapped by a tense membrane, we observe strong long-range attractions with a typical binding energy of 150 $k_B T$ and significant forces extending a few microns.

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Raphael Sarfati, Eric R. Dufresne. 2016-02-04. Long-range attraction of particles adhered to lipid vesicles. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.94.012604

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