title: Multidomain and ground state configurations of two-phase vesicles.
abstract: A simple model is used to study the equilibrium of lipid domains on two-phase vesicles. Two classes of configurations are considered: multidomain and ground state configurations. For multidomain configurations, the vesicle has a finite number of identical lipid domains. For ground state configurations, the vesicle is fully phase separated into two coexisting domains. Whereas the volume enclosed by a vesicle with multidomains is fixed, the volume enclosed by a vesicle in a ground state is allowed to vary with the osmotic pressure. Guided by experimental observations, all domains are assumed to be spherical caps. In a multidomain configuration, the line tension is found to decrease with the number of domains present, with possible exceptions when the number of domains is very small. The importance of a critical osmotic pressure and a critical excess radius on ground state configurations is explored. Emphasis is placed on understanding the variations of these critical quantities with relevant parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Mohsen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maleki
authors.forename: Eliot
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fried
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry; D021962:Membrane Microdomains / Q000737:chemistry; D008954:Models, Biological; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers