No Arabic abstract
We have studied the mesoscopic shape fluctuations in aligned multilamellar stacks of DMPC bilayers using the neutron spin-echo technique. The corresponding in plane dispersion relation $tau^{-1}$(q$_{||}$) at different temperatures in the gel (ripple, P$_{beta}$) and the fluid (L$_{alpha}$) phase of this model system has been determined. Two relaxation processes, one at about 10ns and a second, slower process at about 100ns can be quantified. The dispersion relation in the fluid phase is fitted to a smectic hydrodynamic theory, with a correction for finite q$_z$ resolution. We extract values for, the bilayer bending rigidity $kappa$, the compressional modulus of the stacks $B$, and the effective sliding viscosity $eta_3$. The softening of a mode which can be associated with the formation of the ripple structure is observed close to the main phase transition.
One of the most widely used methods for determination of the bending elasticity modulus of model lipid membranes is the analysis of the shape fluctuations of nearly spherical lipid vesicles. The theoretical basis of this analysis is given by Milner and Safran. In their theory the stretching effects are not considered. In the present study we generalized their approach including the stretching effects deduced after an application of statistical mechanics of vesicles.
The mechanical properties of biological membranes play an important role in the structure and the functioning of living organisms. One of the most widely used methods for determination of the bending elasticity modulus of the model lipid membranes (simplified models of the biomembranes with similar mechanical properties) is analysis of the shape fluctuations of the nearly spherical lipid vesicles. A theoretical basis of such an analysis is developed by Milner and Safran. In the present studies we analyze their results using an approach based on the Bogoljubov inequalities and the approximating Hamiltonian method. This approach is in accordance with the principles of statistical mechanics and is free of contradictions. Our considerations validate the results of Milner and Safran if the stretching elasticity K_s of the membrane tends to zero.
We have studied the collective short wavelength dynamics in deuterated DMPC bilayers by inelastic neutron scattering. The corresponding dispersion relation $hbaromega$(Q) is presented for the gel and fluid phase of this model system. The temperature dependence of the inelastic excitations indicates a phase coexistence between the two phases over a broad range and leads to a different assignment of excitations than that reported in a preceding inelastic x-ray scattering study [Phys. Rev. Lett. {bf 86}, 740 (2001)]. As a consequence, we find that the minimum in the dispersion relation is actually deeper in the gel than in the fluid phase. Finally, we can clearly identify an additional non-dispersive (optical) mode predicted by Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations [Phys. Rev. Lett. {bf 87}, 238101 (2001)].
Lipid bilayer membranes undergo rapid bending undulations with wavelengths from tens of nanometers to tens of microns due to thermal fluctuations. Here, we probe such undulations and the membranes mechanics by measuring the time-varying orientation of single gold nanorods (GNRs) adhered to the membrane, using high-speed dark field microscopy. In a lipid vesicle, such measurements allow the determination of the membranes viscosity, bending rigidity and tension as well as the friction coefficient for sliding of the monolayers over one another. The in-plane rotation of the GNR is hindered by undulations in a membrane tension dependent manner, consistent with simulations. The motion of single GNRs adhered to the plasma membrane of living cultured cells similarly reveals that membranes complex physics and coupling to the cells actomyosin cortex.
We report a high energy-resolution neutron backscattering study to investigate slow motions on nanosecond time scales in highly oriented solid supported phospholipid bilayers of the model system DMPC -d54 (deuterated 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phoshatidylcholine), hydrated with heavy water. This technique allows to discriminate the onset of mobility at different length scales for the different molecular components, as e.g.@ the lipid acyl-chains and the hydration water in between the membrane stacks, respectively, and provides a benchmark test regarding the feasibility of neutron backscattering investigations on these sample systems. We discuss freezing of the lipid acyl-chains, as observed by this technique, and observe a second freezing transition which we attribute to the hydration water.