MEMBRANE CURVATURE INDUCED BY POLYMERS AND COLLOIDS

Polymers and colloids change the 'spontaneous' curvature of flexible m embranes such as lipid bilayers. Two general cases will be discussed: (i) The effect of single polymers or colloids which are anchored or ad sorbed to the membranes and exert bending moments on the adjacent memb rane segments; and (ii) the effect of unbalanced tensions in the two m embrane/water interfaces which arise. e.g., from polymer brushes and f rom non-anchored polymers or colloids. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.