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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
Published on: September 1, 2023
Theory of periodic structures in lipid bilayer membranes
M S Falkovitz1, M Seul, H L Frisch
1Stauffer Laboratory for Physical Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305.
Abstract:
An approximate, new model for the structure of the periodic, undulated P(beta'), phase of phosphatidylcholine bilayers is proposed. The properties of this phase are deduced by minimizing a Landau-de Gennes expression for the bilayer free energy when this free energy contains a term favoring a spontaneous curvature of the membrane. The theoretical calculation leads to a model for the P(beta') phase of phosphatidylcholine bilayers having a number of novel physical properties, including periodic variations in membrane "fluidity."
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