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Imaging Molecular Adhesion in Cell Rolling by Adhesion Footprint Assay
Published on: September 27, 2021
Adhesion of membranes with active stickers
Bartosz Rózycki1, Reinhard Lipowsky, Thomas R Weikl
1Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächtenforschung, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
Abstract:
We consider a theoretical model for membranes with adhesive receptors, or stickers, that are actively switched between two conformational states. In their "on" state, the stickers bind to ligands in an apposing membrane, whereas they do not interact with the ligands in their "off" state. We show that the adhesiveness of the membranes depends sensitively on the rates of the conformational switching process. This dependence is reflected in a resonance at intermediate switching rates, which can lead to large membrane separations and unbinding. Our results may provide insights into novel mechanisms for the controlled adhesion of biological or biomimetic membranes.
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