Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026

Adhesion Frequency Assay for In Situ Kinetics Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interactions at the Cell-Cell Interface
Published on: November 2, 2011
Adhesion of cylindrical colloids to the surface of a membrane
Sergey Mkrtchyan1, Christopher Ing, Jeff Z Y Chen
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1.
Abstract:
We study the system of cylindrical colloids adhering to an originally flat fluid membrane, on the basis of a full treatment of the Helfrich model. Our approach allows for numerical calculation of the free energy in both shallow- and deep-wrapping conformations. We show that the free energy of two cylinders adhering to the same side of a membrane has two branches corresponding to shallow and deep wrapping and that the system of two cylinders adhering to opposite sides of a membrane can undergo a first-order phase transition between two membrane-mediated attractive states.
Related Concept Videos
Adhesion
Capillary action is a result of water’s adhesive tendencies. When a narrow glass...
Colloids
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
Types of Membrane Protrusions
The microvilli, an example of stable protrusions, are finger-like projections with a...
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...
Cell Adhesion Molecules - Types and Functions
CAM Families
The Integrin family of proteins is primarily involved in a...

