TY  - JOUR
PB  - SciPost Foundation
DO  - 10.21468/SciPostPhys.18.3.099
TI  - Molecular sorting on a fluctuating membrane
PY  - 2025/03/18
UR  - https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.18.3.099
JF  - SciPost Physics
JA  - SciPost Phys.
VL  - 18
IS  - 3
SP  - 099
A1  - Andreghetti, Damiano
AU  - Dall'Asta, Luca
AU  - Gamba, Andrea
AU  - Kolokolov, Igor
AU  - Lebedev, Vladimir
AB  - Molecular sorting in biological membranes is essential for proper cellular function. It also plays a crucial role in the budding of enveloped viruses from host cells. We recently proposed that this process is driven by phase separation, where the formation and growth of sorting domains depend primarily on direct intermolecular interactions. In addition to these, Casimir-like forces—arising from entropic effects in fluctuating membranes —may also play a significant role in the molecular distillation process. Here, using a combination of theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, we explore how Casimir-like forces between rigid membrane inclusions contribute to sorting, particularly in the biologically relevant regime where direct intermolecular interactions are weak. Our results show that these forces enhance molecular distillation by reducing the critical radius for the formation of new sorting domains and facilitating the capture of molecules within these domains. We identify the relative rigidity of the membrane and supermolecular domains as a key parameter controlling molecular sorting efficiency, offering new insights into the physical principles underlying molecular sorting in biological systems.
ER  -

@Article{10.21468/SciPostPhys.18.3.099,
	title={{Molecular sorting on a fluctuating membrane}},
	author={Damiano Andreghetti and Luca Dall'Asta and Andrea Gamba and Igor Kolokolov and Vladimir Lebedev},
	journal={SciPost Phys.},
	volume={18},
	pages={099},
	year={2025},
	publisher={SciPost},
	doi={10.21468/SciPostPhys.18.3.099},
	url={https://scipost.org/10.21468/SciPostPhys.18.3.099},
}