Motion of phospholipidic vesicles along an inclined plane: sliding and rolling.
The migration of giant phospholipidic vesicles along an inclined plane in a quiescent fluid was observed as a function of the mass and the radius R of the vesicles, and as a function of the angle of inclination of the plane. Vesicles were swollen, and did not adhere to the substrate surface. It was observed from a side-view chamber that they have quasispherical shapes. The vesicles mainly slide along the plane, but also roll. The ratio omegaR/v of rotational to translational velocities is of the order of 0.15 for vesicles of radius ranging from 10 to 30 microm. Values of this ratio, and variations of v versus R, are well described by Goldman et al.'s model developed for the motion of rigid spheres close to a wall [Chem. Eng. Sci. 22, 637 (1967)]. In this framework, the thickness of the fluid film between the vesicle and the substrate derived from fitting experimental data was found to be equal to 48 nm.
Abkarian
M
M
Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Physique, UMR C5588 (CNRS), Université Joseph Fourier, Boîte Postale 87, 38402 Saint Martin d'Hères Cedex, France.
Lartigue
C
C
Viallat
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods*; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens; D004531:Eggs; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors
D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids; D012709:Serum Albumin