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Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 409–412 (1998)

Hard Spheres in Vesicles: Curvature-Induced Forces and Particle-Induced Curvature

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A. D. Dinsmore*, D. T. Wong, Philip Nelson, and A. G. Yodh
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Received 16 June 1997; published in the issue dated 12 January 1998

We explore the interplay of membrane curvature and nonspecific binding due to excluded-volume effects among colloidal particles inside lipid bilayer vesicles. We trapped submicron spheres of two different sizes inside a pear-shaped, multilamellar vesicle and found the larger spheres to be pinned to the vesicle's surface and pushed in the direction of increasing curvature. A simple model predicts that hard spheres can induce shape changes in flexible vesicles. The results demonstrate an important relationship between the shape of a vesicle or pore and the arrangement of particles within it.

© 1998 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.409
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.409
PACS:
87.22.Bt, 05.20.-y, 82.65.Dp, 82.70.Dd

*Current address: Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, Naval Research Lab, Washington, DC.Electronic address: tdd@cbmse.nrl.navy.mil

 
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