Collapse of polymer brushes grafted onto planar ... - Wageningen UR
Collapse of polymer brushes grafted onto planar ... - Wageningen UR
Collapse of polymer brushes grafted onto planar ... - Wageningen UR
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INFLUENCE OF POLYMERS ON THE BENDING MODULI OF BILAYERS<br />
J. van Male, F.A.M. Leermakers<br />
Laboratory <strong>of</strong> Physical Chemistry and Colloid Science, <strong>Wageningen</strong> University,<br />
Dreijenplein 6, 6703 HB <strong>Wageningen</strong>, The Netherlands<br />
email: vanmale@fenk.wau.nl<br />
ABSTRACT<br />
Surfactant bilayers have a low surface tension. The rigidity <strong>of</strong> bilayers determines the phase behavior <strong>of</strong> the<br />
bilayer membranes. We investigated the effect <strong>of</strong> homo<strong>polymer</strong>s on the bending moduli <strong>of</strong> bilayer membranes<br />
by numerical self-consistent field calculations. Adsorbing <strong>polymer</strong>s increase the mean bending<br />
modulus k c , resulting in stiffer bilayers and decrease the Gaussian bending modulus k , disfavoring handles<br />
between the membranes. Overall, adsorbing <strong>polymer</strong>s stabilize the bilayers. Calculations that approximate<br />
the membrane as an inert solid wall give opposite results. This shows that the membrane should be explicitly<br />
taken into account.