title: Application of a free-energy-landscape approach to study tension-dependent bilayer tubulation mediated by curvature-inducing proteins.
abstract: We investigate the phenomenon of protein-induced tubulation of lipid bilayer membranes within a continuum framework using Monte Carlo simulations coupled with the Widom insertion technique to compute excess chemical potentials. Tubular morphologies are spontaneously formed when the density and the curvature-field strength of the membrane-bound proteins exceed their respective thresholds and this transition is marked by a sharp drop in the excess chemical potential. We find that the planar to tubular transition can be described by a micellar model and that the corresponding free-energy barrier increases with an increase in the curvature-field strength (i.e., of protein-membrane interactions) and also with an increase in membrane tension.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Tourdot
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ramakrishnan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baumgart
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000378:metabolism*; D008823:Micelles; D008954:Models, Biological; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D013500:Surface Tension; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008823:Micelles; D014404:Tubulin