Abstract
We investigated the dynamic response of membranes with different bending moduli to stress, which phase diagrams for vesicles conformations at equilibrium cannot predict. We used melittin to systematically modify the bending modulus of 1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) phospholipid membrane. The bending moduli of DOPC giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) at different peptide-to-lipid (P/L) ratios were estimated with contour fluctuation analysis, for which we developed an edge finding algorithm for fluorescence images. We saw that the bending modulus decreased with increasing P/L before pore formation, but the trend was reversed after pore formation. When GUVs of different bending moduli were subjected to similar stress, the morphology distributions of large numbers of vesicles at equilibrium were different. The difference reflects the greater volume loss of vesicles with lower bending modulus, for which higher tension can build up in the membrane when vesicles deform under stress. Beyond a threshold tension, vesicles form transient pores through which contents can flow out to release the tension.
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