Registration and analysis of the shape fluctuations of nearly spherical lipid vesicles

The analysis of shape fluctuations of giant nearly spherical lipid vesicles observed via optical microscopy is one of the widely used methods for the determination of the bending elasticity of lipid membranes. Although the method has been used already for three decades, the values of this material constant, obtained by different groups for membranes of the same composition, in identical conditions, differ significantly. The aim of the present work is the development of the method, enabling us to avoid the influence of artifacts on the value of the measured bending modulus. This is achieved by rejection of some images of the vesicle or the whole vesicle when they do not satisfy the requirements (selection criteria) of the applied theory. The bending modulus of 1-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine lipid membranes is determined via the advanced method described here. The results are compared with the values in the literature and their difference is discussed.