Large stress asymmetries of lipid bilayers and nanovesicles generate lipid flip-flops and bilayer instabilities

• Published in: Soft matter Vol. 18; no. 32; pp. 666 - 678
• Main Authors: Sreekumari, Aparna, Lipowsky, Reinhard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 17.08.2022
• Subjects: Asymmetry; Distribution functions; Exponential functions; Lipid bilayers; Lipids; Membranes; Molecular dynamics; Stability

Much effort has been devoted to lipid bilayers and nanovesicles with a compositional asymmetry between the two leaflets of the bilayer membranes. Here, we address another fundamental asymmetry related to lipid densities and membrane tensions. To avoid membrane rupture, the osmotic conditions must be...