When   Friday, October 31, 2008   Time   2:00 PM - 3:00 PM  
Where   Technological Instit M 416 2145 Sheridan Rd.   map it
Audience   - Faculty/Staff - Student - Public
Contact   Molly E Scanlon   +1 847 491 5586  
Group   McCormick-Colloquia Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics

Title: Dynamics of Lipid Bilayer Vesicles in Viscous Flows

Speaker: Jonathan Schwalbe

Abstract: An analytical theory is developed to described the dynamics of a closed lipid bilayer membrane in a general linear viscous flow. The dynamics of the membrane is governed by the Stokes equations in the fluid plus the normal and tangential stress condition along the bilayer interface. In addition, the effects of the membrane fluidity, incompressibility and resistance to bending is taken into account. The model is a generalization of the work of Seifert and Langer (Europhys. Lett. vol. 23, 71, 1993) which accounted for the transport of lipid density along both monolayers of a planar bilayer. Small amplitude perturbations from a spherical vesicle are considered. The leading order analysis results in a nonlinear coupled system of equations for the dynamics of the interface and the mean bilayer density difference. Multiple solution states are found as a function of viscosity ratio and the monolayer slip coefficient. The dynamics and stability of these solutions is discussed. Comparisons are made to recent work which required local area conservation along the membrane. The relation of these results to recent experiments is also discussed.

This talk is part of the RTG Seminar Series.