Nanoscale surface relaxation of a membrane stack.
Recent measurements of the short-wavelength (approximately 1-100 nm) fluctuations in stacks of lipid membranes have revealed two distinct relaxations: a fast one (decay rate of approximately 0.1 ns(-1)), which fits the known baroclinic mode of bulk lamellar phases, and a slower one (approximately 1-10 micros(-1)) of unknown origin. We show that the latter is accounted for by an overdamped capillary mode, depending on the surface tension of the stack and its anisotropic viscosity. We thereby demonstrate how the dynamic surface tension of membrane stacks could be extracted from such measurements.
Bary-Soroker
Hamutal
H
School of Physics & Astronomy, Raymond & Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
Diamant
Haim
H
D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods*; D002196:Capillaries / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D004134:Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine / Q000737:chemistry; D007700:Kinetics; D008027:Light; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D004134:Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine