Stabilization of membrane pores by packing
Abstract
We present a model for pore stabilization in membranes without surface tension. Whereas an isolated pore is always unstable (since it either shrinks, tending to reseal, or grows without bound until membrane disintegration), it is shown that excluded volume interactions in a system of many pores can stabilize individual pores of a given size in a certain range of model parameters. For such a multipore membrane system, the distribution of pore size and associated pore lifetime are calculated within the mean-field approximation. We predict that, above the temperature Tm , when the effective line tension becomes negative, the membrane exhibits a dynamic sievelike porous structure.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review E
- Pub Date:
- June 2006
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevE.73.060101
- arXiv:
- arXiv:cond-mat/0604060
- Bibcode:
- 2006PhRvE..73f0101B
- Keywords:
-
- 87.16.Dg;
- 87.15.Aa;
- 82.45.Mp;
- Membranes bilayers and vesicles;
- Theory and modeling;
- computer simulation;
- Thin layers films monolayers membranes;
- Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter;
- Condensed Matter - Statistical Mechanics
- E-Print:
- 4 pages, 4 figures