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Related Concept Videos

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending01:15

Mechanisms of Membrane-bending

The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by specific lipids and proteins. The membrane bending can be transient as seen in vesicles or stable for a long time as in microvilli. Cells regulate the size, location, and duration of the membrane curvature.
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
Membrane Domains01:18

Membrane Domains

The membrane domains concentrate specific lipids and proteins at one place within the membrane, which helps in cell signaling, adhesion, and other critical cellular processes. These domains can differ in size, composition, function, and lifespan.
Protein Domains
The membrane comprises a group of distinct proteins responsible for carrying out a cell's specific function. For example, the plasma membrane of the human sperm, or a single germ cell, contains a unique set of proteins in the anterior...
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation00:59

Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation

Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains are formed due to protein-protein interactions, whereas others are formed due to the presence of specific lipids such as sphingolipids and sterols—for example, large proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin, aggregate and create distinct domains.
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...
Facilitated Diffusion01:16

Facilitated Diffusion

The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
Cellular Membranes and Drug Transport01:24

Cellular Membranes and Drug Transport

Drugs must traverse multiple biological barriers, such as multi-layered skin, single-layered intestinal epithelium, and the plasma membrane, to reach their target sites within the body. The plasma membrane, a highly structured composite of phospholipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, is the cell's protective boundary, facilitating selective substance exchange.
Phospholipids arrange themselves into a bilayer, with hydrophilic heads oriented outward and hydrophobic tails facing inward.
Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters01:19

Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters

Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 18, 2026

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
07:31

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies

Published on: September 1, 2023

Critical Casimir forces in cellular membranes.

Benjamin B Machta1, Sarah L Veatch, James P Sethna

  • 1Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|October 4, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Cell membranes near a critical point enable long-range forces. These critical Casimir forces, mediated by composition fluctuations, affect membrane-bound proteins in living cells.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Statistical Mechanics

Background:

  • Cell membranes exhibit critical behavior near miscibility points.
  • This proximity to criticality may facilitate novel physical interactions.
  • The two-dimensional Ising universality class describes membrane miscibility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of membrane criticality in mediating long-range forces.
  • To quantify forces between membrane-bound inclusions using theoretical and computational methods.
  • To explore the implications of critical Casimir forces for cellular processes.

Main Methods:

  • Conformal field theory was used to calculate potentials of mean force.
  • Monte Carlo simulations were employed to verify theoretical predictions.

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Reconstitution of Septin Assembly at Membranes to Study Biophysical Properties and Functions
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Last Updated: May 18, 2026

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
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  • Comparisons were made between critical and off-critical membrane conditions.

    • Main Results:

    • Critical Casimir forces are proposed as a mechanism for long-range interactions in cell membranes.
    • Theoretical calculations and simulations confirmed the existence of these forces.
    • Weak yet significant long-range forces were observed between membrane-bound proteins.

    Conclusions:

    • Cellular membranes tuned near criticality can generate critical Casimir forces.
    • These forces, mediated by composition fluctuations, influence membrane-bound proteins.
    • This phenomenon offers a new perspective on physical interactions within the plasma membrane.