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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 7, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancing Cell Membrane Biophysics - Exploring Interactions and Challenges Through Experimental and Computational Approaches

Author Spotlight: Advancing Cell Membrane Biophysics - Exploring Interactions and Challenges Through Experimental and Computational Approaches

Published on: September 1, 2023

Engineering active colloidal dynamics at a lipid bilayer interface.

Paige Liu¹, Robert K Keane², Hima Nagamanasa Kandula²

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01002, USA. pbeltramo@umass.edu.

|January 2, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed active colloidal swimmers interacting with artificial lipid membranes to study particle transport and membrane mechanics. This system models cellular processes, revealing how particle activity influences membrane wrapping and adhesion dynamics.

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Area of Science:

Colloidal science
Biophysics
Soft matter physics

Background:

Investigating active particle-membrane interactions is crucial for understanding cellular processes like adhesion and transport.
Artificial lipid bilayers offer a controllable model system to study these complex phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and characterize an active colloidal system interacting with artificial lipid bilayers.
To investigate the interplay between membrane mechanics and particle transport during adhesion and wrapping.
To model cellular active transport using synthetic components.

Main Methods:

Utilized polystyrene microspheres with platinum caps as active swimmers, propelled by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
Engineered particles for passive (electrostatic) and active (streptavidin-biotin) interactions with lipid membranes.
Designed Janus particles as 'pushers' and 'pullers' by adjusting surfactant (CTAB) concentration.
Applied active Brownian models to analyze particle-membrane and particle-particle interactions.

Main Results:

Unbound 'puller' particles moved away from the membrane due to negative gravitaxis and increasing H2O2.
Bound particles required a threshold H2O2 concentration to overcome the biotin-neutravidin bond and detach.
Increasing H2O2 concentration led to increased membrane wrapping of 'pusher' particles, altering their dynamics.

Conclusions:

Demonstrated controllable active particle-membrane interactions using synthetic components.
Established a model system to study membrane mechanics and particle transport relevant to cellular functions.
Laid the groundwork for combining active colloids and lipid membranes to explore active transport in biological contexts.