title: Buckling of actin-coated membranes under application of a local force.
abstract: The mechanical properties of composite membranes obtained by self-assembly of actin filaments with giant fluid vesicles are studied by micromanipulation with optical tweezers. These complexes exhibit typical mechanical features of a solid shell, including a finite in-plane shear elastic modulus ( approximately 10(-6) N/m). A buckling instability is observed when a localized force of the order of 0.5 pN is applied perpendicular to the membrane plane. Although predicted for polymerized vesicles, this is the first evidence of such an instability.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Dynamique des Fluides Complexes, U.M.R. C.N.R.S. 7506, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Helfer
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harlepp
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bourdieu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: MacKintosh
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chatenay
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000737:chemistry*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004548:Elasticity; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008954:Models, Biological; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D008567:Membranes, Artificial