Abstract
Lipid bilayer membranes formed from multiple components can separate into coexisting liquid domains with distinct compositions. The formation of stripe and circular domains, curvature-dependent domain sorting, and membrane fission into separate vesicles have been observed experimentally.We have developed a novel solvent-free coarse-grained model that allows free diffusion of membrane agents to simulate the phase separation and morphological evolution in the two-component liquid membranes. Depending on the line energy between the domains, a vesicle with uniform composition can undergo phase separation accompanied by the formation of stripe or circular domains. The formation of the complete spherical buds and the fission into separate vesicles at domain boundaries are also observed in our simulation. The distinct curvatures for phase-separated domains are apparent during the evolution of the vesicles. Our simulations are in agreement with several recent experimental observations.
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