Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers
Published on: July 22, 2015
Phase behavior of lipid bilayers under tension
Mark J Uline1, M Schick, Igal Szleifer
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA. uline@cec.sc.edu
Abstract:
Given the proposed importance of membrane tension in regulating cellular functions, we explore the effects of a finite surface tension on phase equilibrium using a molecular theory that captures the quantitative structure of the phase diagram of the tensionless DPPC/DOPC/Cholesterol lipid bilayer. We find that an increase in the surface tension decreases the temperature of the transition from liquid to gel in a pure DPPC system by ∼1.0 K/(mN/m), and decreases the liquid-disordered to liquid-ordered transition at constant chemical potentials by approximately the same amount. Our results quantitatively isolate the role of tension in comparison to other thermodynamic factors, such as pressure, in determining the phase behavior of lipid bilayers.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Mechanisms of Membrane-bending
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
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...
Membrane Fluidity
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...
Fluid Mosaic Model

