2005/12/20 by Bartosz Różycki, Bartosz Rozycki, Rozycki, Bartosz +4
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior #Molecular Junctions and Nanostructures #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) #Subcellular Processes (q-bio.SC) #cond-mat.soft #cond-mat.stat-mech #q-bio.SC
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.cond-mat/0512514
5 pages, 6 figures; to appear in Physical Review Letters
arxiv created 2005/12/20 · openalex publication_date 2005/12/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We consider a theoretical model for membranes with adhesive receptors, or stickers, that are actively switched between two conformational states. In their 'on'-state, the stickers bind to ligands in an apposing membrane, whereas they do not interact with the ligands in their 'off'-state. We show that the adhesiveness of the membranes depends sensitively on the rates of the conformational switching process. This dependence is reflected in a resonance at intermediate switching rates, which can lead to large membrane separations and unbinding. Our results may provide insights into novel mechanisms for the controlled adhesion of biological or biomimetic membranes.