Wrapping of nanoparticles by membranes

Abstract

How nanoparticles interact with biomembranes is central for understanding their bioactivity. Biomembranes wrap around nanoparticles if the adhesive interaction between the nanoparticles and membranes is sufficiently strong to compensate for the cost of membrane bending. In this article, we review recent results from theory and simulations that provide new insights on the interplay of bending and adhesion energies during the wrapping of nanoparticles by membranes. These results indicate that the interplay of bending and adhesion during wrapping is strongly affected by the interaction range of the particle-membrane adhesion potential, by the shape of the nanoparticles, and by shape changes of membrane vesicles during wrapping. The interaction range of the particle-membrane adhesion potential is crucial both for the wrapping process of single nanoparticles and the cooperative wrapping of nanoparticles by membrane tubules.

Keywords: Bending energy; Membranes; Nanoparticles.