Biofilm bubble curved elastic theory

Author: Xie Yuzhang, Liu Jixing, Ouyang Zhongcan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: Membrane bubbles formed by isotropic materials, such as soap bubbles, are generally spherical, whereas human red blood cells exhibit a biconcave disc shape. This was once a puzzling problem. This book summarizes a wealth of valuable achievements in biophysics since the introduction of the liquid crystal model to study the shapes of biological membrane bubbles. Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the liquid crystal model of biological membranes, tensors, and classical differential geometry, respectively; Chapter 3 presents the theory of surface elasticity of liquid membranes and proposes a universal equation for bubble shapes; Chapter 4 introduces some special solutions of the universal equation, providing and analyzing special shapes of biological membrane bubbles; the final chapter introduces the theory of tilted chiral lipid bilayer membranes. This book progresses from simple to complex, offering profound insights, and is suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students in physics and biology departments, as well as for researchers in related fields.