https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510051023
Attractive forces between anisotropic inclusions in the membrane of a vesicle
1
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Technische Universität Berlin,
Hardenbergstraße 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany
2
Fachbereich Physik -Theoretische Physik, Bergische Universität Wuppertal,
Gaußstraße 20, 42097 Wuppertal,
Germany
Corresponding author: a holzloehner@umbc.edu
Received:
5
February
1999
Revised:
14
May
1999
Published online: 15 December 1999
The fluctuation-induced interaction between two rod-like, rigid inclusions in a fluid
vesicle is studied by means of canonical ensemble Monte-Carlo simulations. The vesicle
membrane is represented by a triangulated network of hard spheres. Five rigidly
connected hard spheres form rod-like inclusions that can leap between sites of the
triangular network. Their effective interaction potential is computed as a function of
mutual distance and angle of the inclusions. On account of the hard-core potential
among these, the nature of the potential is purely entropic. Special precaution is
taken to reduce lattice artifacts and the influence of finite-size effects due to the
spherical geometry. Our results show that the effective potential is attractive and
short-range compared with the rod length L. Its well depth is of the order of
, where κ is the bending modulus.
PACS: 87.16.-b – Subcellular structure and processes / 68.35.Md – Surface energy; thermodynamic properties / 02.70.Lq – Monte Carlo and statistical methods
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1999