Analytical characterization of adhering vesicles.
We characterize vesicle adhesion onto homogeneous substrates by means of a perturbative expansion around the infinite adhesion limit, where curvature elasticity effects are absent. At first order in curvature elasticity, we determine analytically various global physical quantities associated with adhering vesicles: height, adhesion radius, etc. Our results are valid for adhesion energies above a certain threshold, that we determine numerically. We discuss the haptotactic force acting on a vesicle in the limit of weak adhesion gradients. We also propose a few methods for measuring adhesion energies and we suggest a possible way of determining the size of suboptical vesicles using controlled adhesion gradients.
Tordeux
C
C
Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Théorique et Fédération MSC, FR CNRS 2438, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, F-75231 Paris cedex 05, France.
Fournier
J-B
JB
Galatola
P
P
D004548:Elasticity; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D013816:Thermodynamics; D000267:Tissue Adhesions
D008081:Liposomes