Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: We report temperature-induced complete de-wetting of phospholipid membranes from thermally evaporated silicon carbide (SiC) substrates, which occurs in the form of fractal patterns. Excess membrane material released as a result of de-wetting, transforms into fluid-filled membrane pockets, or leads to vesicle formation. The membrane pockets are composed of a double lipid membrane. These double bilayer superstructures, i.e. isolated membrane-enclosed fluid volumes, bring the internal contents into direct contact with the surface. This membrane morphology can be viewed as an alternative prebiotic assembly mechanism with possible implications for protocell development, where physicochemical surface interactions with internal primitive cell contents are greatly facilitated.
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,790
Awards: G1117096570, Chemical Reaction Networks: signal amplification, spatiotemporal control, and materials, Proto-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Hybrid Systems for Generation-Next Bionic Devices, Mapping Culture (GlamMap): Scalability of insightful metadata visualisation for the GLAM (cultural heritage) sector, Chemical Reaction Networks: signal amplification, spatiotemporal control, and materials, Proto-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Hybrid Systems for Generation-Next Bionic Devices
OpenAlex ID: W4401756349