2019/11/13 by Rosario Capozza, Capozza, Rosario, Luca Giomi +5
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications #Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior #Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1911.05557
openalex publication_date 2019/11/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A very common strategy to penetrate the cell membrane and access the internal compartment, consists of using sharp tips or nano needles. However recent experiments of cell penetration by atomic force microscopy tips show, contrary to expectations, a weak dependence of penetration force on the curvature of the tip. Using molecular dynamics simulations and analytical arguments, here we show that membrane disruption can be driven either by elastic or entropic forces depending on the membrane size. Our findings have potentially relevant implications in tissue engineering and drug delivery, as they help assessing the effectiveness of the most common membranes penetration methods.