Researchers Measure Bending Dynamics in Coacervate Liquid Membranes

A multi-institutional team led by the University of Osaka has measured how liquid coacervate membranes bend and fluctuate using neutron spin echo spectroscopy. The researchers utilized vesicles formed by mixing oppositely charged block copolymers in water, where the membrane structure is made of a coacervate while the interior remains liquid-like. They discovered that the liquid membrane bends 100 times more easily than lipid membranes. Furthermore, the restorative force driving the bending elasticity was entropic in origin, differing from the enthalpy-driven processes found in lipid membranes.

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