Buckling of actin-coated membranes under application of a local force.
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.
Helfer
E
E
Laboratoire de Dynamique des Fluides Complexes, U.M.R. C.N.R.S. 7506, Strasbourg, France.
Harlepp
S
S
Bourdieu
L
L
Robert
J
J
MacKintosh
F C
FC
Chatenay
D
D
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
D000199:Actins; D008567:Membranes, Artificial