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Toward a Mathematical Model of the Assembly and Disassembly of Membrane Microdomains: Comparison with Experimental Models

G. Richardson ^*, L. J. Cummings ^*, H. J. Harris  and P. O'Shea 

^* School of Mathematical Sciences and Cell Biophysics Group, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to G. Richardson, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK. E-mail: Giles.Richardson{at}nottingham.ac.uk.

We study a model system in which lipid bilayers are created using variable (precisely known) proportions of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. The model membranes exhibit cholesterol-enriched microdomains that are analogous to the so-called "lipid rafts" that form in living cells. After briefly presenting some experimental results, we formulate and solve a novel mathematical model based on the Smoluchowski equations for coagulation and fragmentation. We present a comparison between the distribution of lipid-raft areas observed in experimental lipid bilayers, and that distribution predicted by the theoretical model. Excellent agreement between the experiments and theory is obtained, with minimal parameter fitting.