Diffusion in curved fluid membranes.
We analyze theoretically the effects of curvature on the diffusion in a fluid membrane, within the Saffman-Delbrück hydrodynamic model. We calculate the effect of curvature on the intrinsic fluidity of a membrane through changes in its thickness, for both static or fluctuating curvature. We treat both thermal curvature fluctuations, and fluctuations due to active processes. Such curvature fluctuations increase the average membrane thickness and diminish the projected area, thereby decreasing the diffusion coefficient. This calculation allows us to predict the effect of shear flow on the membrane diffusion, and to compare to observations on living cells.
Gov
Nir S
NS
Department of Chemical Physics, The Weizmann Institute of Science, P.O. Box 26, Rehovot, Israel 76100.
D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D044367:Phase Transition
D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes; D008567:Membranes, Artificial