Vesicle dynamics in uniform electric fields: squaring and breathing
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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: October 24, 2017
Lane C McConnell1, Petia M Vlahovska, Michael J Miksis
1Department of Math and Statistics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. lmcconne@math.unm.edu.
Abstract:
We computationally investigate the dynamics of a vesicle exposed to uniform DC or AC electric fields. We employ the two-dimensional boundary integral method in order to simulate vesicle deformation under experimental conditions where peculiar drum-like ("squared") shapes have been observed. The vesicle membrane is modeled as an infinitely thin, capacitive, area-incompressible interface, with the surrounding fluids acting as leaky dielectrics. Our simulations capture the "squaring" phenomenon, in which vesicles deform into rectangular profiles with corner-like regions of high curvature, as vesicles undergo dynamic transitions between oblate and prolate ellipsoidal shapes.
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