Berlin 2012 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 14: Membranes and Vesicles

BP 14.11: Talk

Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 12:30–12:45, H 1028

Two-component crystalline shells: invasion by a soft material — •Marc Emanuel, Andrey Cherstvy, and Gerhard Gompper — Institute of Complex Systems, ICS-2/IAS-2, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany

We study the pattern formation of the ground state of two-component crystalline shells, with one component considerably softer than the other. Using approximate solutions of this nonlinear elasticity problem, we envisage the picture of invasion of the vesicle surface by the soft material. The energy minimum demands that the soft material occupies the regions of the surface with a maximal density of the elastic energy and stress. These are the 12 vertices and 30 ridges on the icosahedron that are preferred. Our theoretical results can be applicable to description of shape morphologies monitored for two-component elastic shells with very different bending and stretching moduli. From a biological perspective, the analysis can be relevant for formation of viral capsids from different protein capsomer subunits, in particular the shell of giant mimi viruses.