Synergy between ordering of several kinds of colloidal particles and membrane deformation in vesicles

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H06653
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Biological physics/Chemical physics/Soft matter physics
• Research Institution: Japan Women's University
• Principal Investigator: Natsume Yuno 日本女子大学, 理学部, 助教 (10706831)
• Research Collaborator: ITHO Kazumi 日本女子大学, 理学部, 研究支援員 ; KOMORI Yoko 日本女子大学, 理学部, 研究支援員
• Project Period (FY): 2015-08-28 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ソフトマターの物理 / 生物物理 / ベシクル / コロイド粒子 / 排除体積効果

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we investigated the ‘crowding effect,’ which involves entropic interactions in cells. As an in vitro model for analyzing the crowding effect, we used vesicles containing colloidal particles. Particles were encapsulated in the vesicles by means of a water-in-oil centrifugal sedimentation method. Vesicles encapsulating colloidal particles at a specific volume fraction (~13 vol%) showed synergy between vesicular membrane deformation and ordering of the internal particles. We observed that smaller microspheres tended to localize spontaneously in vesicles that contained two kinds of microspheres with different sizes. In comparison with the in vitro experimental results and the theoretical model, we examined the contribution of the osmotic pressure equilibrium of the internal particles to ordering and localization from the viewpoint of the crowding effect.

Free Research Field

ソフトマターの物理