Issue 38, 2023

Reaction-driven assembly: controlling changes in membrane topology by reaction cycles

Abstract

Chemical reaction cycles are prototypical examples how to drive systems out of equilibrium and introduce novel, life-like properties into soft-matter systems. We report simulations of amphiphilic molecules in aqueous solution. The molecule's head group is permanently hydrophilic, whereas the reaction cycle switches the molecule's tail from hydrophilic (precursor) to hydrophobic (amphiphile) and vice versa. The reaction cycle leads to an arrest in coalescence and results in uniform vesicle sizes that can be controlled by the reaction rate. Using a continuum description and particle-based simulation, we study the scaling of the vesicle size with the reaction rate. The chemically active vesicles are inflated by precursor, imparting tension onto the membrane and, for specific parameters, stabilize pores.

Graphical abstract: Reaction-driven assembly: controlling changes in membrane topology by reaction cycles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 jul 2023
Accepted
07 aug 2023
First published
07 aug 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2023,19, 7281-7292

Reaction-driven assembly: controlling changes in membrane topology by reaction cycles

G. Häfner and M. Müller, Soft Matter, 2023, 19, 7281 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM00876B

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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