Anomalously fast kinetics of lipid monolayer buckling

TL;DR

This paper investigates the unexpectedly rapid folding of lipid monolayers, revealing that the observed folding speeds exceed the energy supplied by buckling, suggesting the need for revised models of the process.

Contribution

It provides a critical re-evaluation of lipid monolayer buckling kinetics, highlighting discrepancies and proposing extensions to existing mechanical models.

Findings

Folding kinetics are at least thirty times faster than energy supplied by buckling.

Conservative limits on energy release and kinetic energy were established.

The results challenge the adequacy of current buckling models for lipid monolayers.

Abstract

We re-examine previous observations of folding kinetics of compressed lipid monolayers in light of the accepted mechanical buckling mechanism recently proposed [L. Pocivavsek et al., Soft Matter, 2008, 4, 2019]. Using simple models, we set conservative limits on a) the energy released in the mechanical buckling process and b) the kinetic energy entailed by the observed folding motion. These limits imply a kinetic energy at least thirty times greater than the energy supplied by the buckling instability. We discuss possible extensions of the accepted picture that might resolve this discrepancy.