Electrostatic free energy and spontaneous curvature of spherical charged layered membrane 1

Abstract

A biophysical model for the equilibrium curvature of a composite membrane element is derived taking into account the mechanical bilayer properties and the adjacent charged protein layers. The minimum of the total free energy density with respect to the curvature of such a membrane curved was estimated from the sum of the electrostatic free energy density of the charges of the membrane and the elastic surface energy density due to bending the lipid bilayer membrane. It was shown that the equilibrium curvature, i.e. the spontaneous curvature, of such a charged composite sandwich-like membrane depends inversely on the bending stiffness of the lipid membrane itself and directly on the charge amount inside and outside the membrane to the second power. Furthermore the geometric and electrostatic structure of the protein layers and the physico-chemical environment conditions are involved. Corresponding to the model developed a “standard RBC” membrane element has a negative spontaneous curvature, accounting for a discocyte RBC shape. The shape change from a discocyte to a more stomatocytic shape (increase in the negative spontaneous curvature) after reducing the charges in the glycocalyx is also explained within this model.