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Interaction between bending and tension forces in bilayer membranes.

T W Secomb1

  • 1Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85724.

Biophysical Journal
|October 1, 1988
PubMed
Summary

Bending a two-leaflet biological membrane induces shear stresses, even with isotropic leaflet tension. These stresses grow with curvature, impacting cell shape and deformation, particularly in red blood cells.

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Theoretical Mechanics

Background:

  • Biological membranes, such as the red blood cell membrane, consist of two tightly-coupled leaflets.
  • These leaflets readily shear and bend but resist area changes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To theoretically analyze the bending mechanics of such two-leaflet membranes.
  • To investigate the relationship between membrane curvature and induced shear stresses.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of membrane bending.
  • Mathematical modeling of leaflet interactions and stress induction.

Main Results:

  • Anisotropic shear stresses are induced in the membrane upon bending, even if leaflet tension is isotropic.
  • Induced shear stresses increase quadratically with membrane curvature.
  • Significant shear stresses occur at moderate curvatures, where radius of curvature is larger than leaflet distance.

Conclusions:

  • The theoretical model explains the generation of shear stresses in bending two-leaflet membranes.
  • These findings have implications for understanding the shape and deformation of biological cells, including red blood cells.

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