Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: December 7, 2017
Bending and radial deformation of lipid tubules on self-assembled thiol monolayers
Yue Zhao1, Nidhi Mahajan, Jiyu Fang
1Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center and Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
Abstract:
Lipid tubules represent a hollow, cylindrical supramolecular structure formed by rolled-up lipid bilayers. We find that the lipid tubules of 1,2-bis(tricosa-10,12-diynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine can be bent into a loopike shape by the shrinking contact line of droplets on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 1-dodecanethiol. The persistence length of individual lipid tubules is estimated to be approximately 41 microm. The radial deformation of the lipid tubules on SAMs is studied under applied load using atomic force microscope. The stiffness of the tubules in the radial direction is found to increase when the number of the lipid bilayers in the tubule wall increases.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Mechanisms of Membrane-bending
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...
Membrane Fluidity
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is a relatively...

