Adhesion of membranes with competing specific and generic interactions

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical study of membrane adhesion, showing how the interplay of specific and generic interactions can cause phase separation, influenced by membrane fluctuations, with implications for biomimetic membrane behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a general mechanism for adhesion-induced phase separation driven by competing interactions, supported by analysis of different potential models.

Findings

Potential barrier causes lateral phase separation during adhesion.

Membrane fluctuations reduce the potential barrier and phase separation tendency.

The mechanism applies to various types of specific attractive potentials.

Abstract

Biomimetic membranes in contact with a planar substrate or a second membrane are studied theoretically. The membranes contain specific adhesion molecules (stickers) which are attracted by the second surface. In the absence of stickers, the trans--interaction between the membrane and the second surface is assumed to be repulsive at short separations. It is shown that the interplay of specific attractive and generic repulsive interactions can lead to the formation of a potential barrier. This barrier induces a line tension between bound and unbound membrane segments which results in lateral phase separation during adhesion. The mechanism for adhesion--induced phase separation is rather general, as is demonstrated by considering two distinct cases involving: (i) stickers with a linear attractive potential, and (ii) stickers with a short--ranged square--well potential. In both cases, membrane fluctuations reduce the potential barrier and, therefore, decrease the tendency of phase separation.