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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Spontaneous Formation and Rearrangement of Artificial Lipid Nanotube Networks as a Bottom-Up Model for Endoplasmic Reticulum
Published on: January 22, 2019
Zipper dynamics of surfactant nanotube Y junctions
Tatsiana Lobovkina1, Paul Dommersnes, Jean-François Joanny
1Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Microtechnology Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenborg, Sweden.
Abstract:
We investigate the formation of Y junctions in surfactant nanotubes connecting vesicles. Based on experimental observations of the surfactant flow on the nanotubes, we conclude that a Y junction propagates with a zipperlike mechanism. The surfactants from two nanotube branches undergo 1:1 mixing at the junction, and spontaneously form the extension of the third nanotube branch. Taking into account the tension driven surfactant flow, we develop a model for the Y junction dynamics that is in quantitative agreement with the experimental data.
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