Shapes of fluid vesicles anchored by polymer chains

Abstract

We have studied polymer chains anchoring to fluid vesicles by the combination of self-consistent-field theory (SCFT) for polymer chains and Helfrich curvature energy theory for fluid membranes. Both density distributions of chain segments and shapes of fluid vesicles have been obtained. Due to the limited available space and reduced conformational entropy for the anchored polymer chains, the polymer chains induce the inhomogeneous entropic pressure on fluid membranes, which lead to the shape deformation of the vesicle. In the present study, the shapes of vesicle anchored by polymer chains for a prescribed volume and surface area are investigated as functions of interactions between chain segments and the membrane, the anchored polymer chain lengths, the solvent quality and the bending rigidity of membrane. It will be straightforward to extend this method to more complicated systems, such as vesicles with multiple anchored chains, block copolymers or semiflexible chains.