title: Attractive instability of oppositely charged membranes induced by charge density fluctuations.
abstract: We predict the conditions under which two oppositely charged membranes show a dynamic, attractive instability. Two layers with unequal charges of opposite sign can repel or be stable when in close proximity. However, dynamic charge density fluctuations can induce an attractive instability and thus facilitate fusion. We predict the dominant instability modes and time scales and show how these are controlled by the relative charge and membrane viscosities. These dynamic instabilities may be the precursors of membrane fusion in systems where artificial vesicles are engulfed by biological cells of opposite charge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hed
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Safran
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D055672:Static Electricity; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008055:Lipids; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D004247:DNA