Can amphiphile architecture directly control vesicle size?

Abstract

Bilayer membranes self-assembled from simple amphiphiles in solution always have a planar ground-state shape. This is a consequence of several internal relaxation mechanisms of the membrane and prevents the straightforward control of vesicle size. Here, we show that this principle can be circumvented and that direct size control by molecular design is a realistic possibility. Using coarse-grained calculations, we design tetrablock copolymers that form membranes with a preferred curvature, and demonstrate how to form low-polydispersity vesicles while suppressing micellization.

4 pages, 4 figures. Version 2: Calculations performed for a fuller range of parameters, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters

References in corpus (5)

• Spontaneous formation of complex micelles from homogeneous solution
• Polymer-induced tubulation in lipid vesicles
• Coarse-Grained Models of Biological Membranes within the Single Chain Mean Field Theory
• Micelle shape transitions in block copolymer/homopolymer blends: comparison of self-consistent field theory with experiment
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Cited by in corpus (1)

• Disk-shaped bicelles in block copolymer/homopolymer blends