This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: biophysj.106.091843v1 91/10/3600    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lin, L. C.-L. Articles by Brown, F. L. H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lin, L. C.-L. Articles by Brown, F. L. H.

Analysis of Shape, Fluctuations, and Dynamics in Intermembrane Junctions

Lawrence C.-L. Lin ^*, Jay T. Groves  and Frank L. H. Brown 

^* Department of Physics, and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara, California; and Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California

Correspondence: Address reprint request to Frank L. H. Brown, Tel.: 805-893-5494; E-mail: flbrown{at}chem.ucsb.edu.

A dynamic-elastic model for weakly adhered intermembrane junctions is presented. Helfrich membrane energetics coupled to hydrodynamic modes of the surrounding solvent reproduce the average shape, fluctuations, and dynamics of these junctions as measured experimentally. Comparison between numerical results and experimental data provides the first direct measure of surface tension in these systems (0.01–0.06 dyn/cm). The measurements suggest bilayer-bilayer adhesion energetics as the dominant source of surface tension in the experimental systems.