Mechanism of membrane tube formation induced by adhesive nanocomponents

TL;DR

This paper uses Monte Carlo simulations to investigate how large colloidal particles induce membrane tubulation, revealing the collective behavior and conditions favoring tube formation over budding.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed numerical analysis of membrane tubulation driven by adhesive nanocomponents, highlighting the role of particle aggregates and binding strength.

Findings

Tube formation occurs at lower binding strengths than budding.

Linear particle aggregates act as nucleation sites for tubulation.

Collective particle behavior is crucial for membrane deformation.

Abstract

We report numerical simulations of membrane tubulation driven by large colloidal particles. Using Monte Carlo simulations we study how the process depends on particle size, concentration and binding strength, and present accurate free energy calculations to sort out how tube formation compares with the competing budding process. We find that tube formation is a result of the collective behavior of the particles adhering on the surface, and it occurs for binding strengths that are smaller than those required for budding. We also find that long linear aggregates of particles forming on the membrane surface act as nucleation seeds for tubulation by lowering the free energy barrier associated to the process.