Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Pulling Membrane Nanotubes from Giant Unilamellar Vesicles
Published on: December 7, 2017
Experimental support for tilt-dependent theory of biomembrane mechanics
M S Jablin1, K Akabori1, J F Nagle1
1Physics Department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA.
Abstract:
Recent simulations have indicated that the traditional model for topographical fluctuations in biomembranes should be enriched to include molecular tilt. Here we report the first experimental data supporting this enrichment. Utilizing a previously posited tilt-dependent model, a height-height correlation function was derived. The x-ray scattering from a liquid crystalline stack of oriented fluid phase lipid bilayers was calculated and compared with experiment. By fitting the measured scattering intensity, both the bending modulus K(c)=8.3±0.6×10⁻²⁰ J and the tilt modulus K(θ)=95±7 mN/m were determined for DOPC lipid bilayers at 30 °C.
Related Concept Videos
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
Fluid Mosaic Model
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with...
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer

