2003/05/31 by Z. C. Tu, Z. C. Ou-Yang · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Erythrocyte Function and Pathophysiology #Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior #Nanopore and Nanochannel Transport Studies #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreve.68.061915
published as Phys. Rev. E 68, 061915 (2003) · 15 pages, 6 figures
openalex publication_date 2003/12/31 · arxiv created 2004/01/07 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Lipid membrane with freely exposed edge is regarded as smooth surface with curved boundary. Exterior differential forms are introduced to describe the surface and the boundary curve. The total free energy is defined as the sum of Helfrich's free energy and the surface and line tension energy. The equilibrium equation and boundary conditions of the membrane are derived by taking the variation of the total free energy. These equations can also be applied to the membrane with several freely exposed edges. Analytical and numerical solutions to these equations are obtained under the axisymmetric condition. The numerical results can be used to explain recent experimental results obtained by Saitoh et al. [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 95, 1026 (1998)].