Biological & Soft Matter Seminar: Dynamics of multi-component membranes

Abstract:

We shall discuss theoretically the relaxation dynamics of two-component fluid bilayer membranes. The membrane is treated as a two-component compressible 2D fluid which is coupled to the surrounding 3D bulk fluid. The friction between the two monolayers and their finite thickness are taken into account. We extend the theory by Seifert and Langer to consider the effects of interaction between the two lipid species on the membrane dynamics. We show that the mutual diffusion mode between the two lipids is coupled to both the bending and the compression modes. Especially, when the membrane is close to the criticality of phase separation, the slowest mode is dominated by the diffusive mode, which is a unique feature of multi-component lipid bilayers.

Seminar Organizer: Guy Yaacoby