Multilamellar vesicular clusters of phosphatidylcholine and their sensitivity to spectrin: A study by fractal analysis

The cluster patterns of multilamellar vesicles (MLV) of dimyristoylphosphat idylcholine (DMPC) were analyzed using a combination of fractal analysis an d lattice simulation. Self-assembly of DMPC MLVs resulted in two types of m icroscopically observable clusters. The clusters were classified on the bas is of their mass fractal dimension, two-dimensional porosity, and the light scattering properties. Spectrin, a cytoskeletal protein, well known for it s role in determining the cellular morphology, was used to perturb such spo ntaneously formed clusters. The fragmentation of the clusters by hydrodynam ic perturbation followed a power law, implying again a fractal behavior. A lattice-based simulation was performed generating different class of cluste r patterns. The observed correspondence between the cluster patterns and th eir stability was discussed in the framework of the proposed lattice simula tion. (C) 1998 Academic Press.