Abstract
Let us consider a cut across a lipid membrane (Fig. 1). Hydrocarbon is exposed to water. The work per unit length required to create an open edge is denoted as edge tension. We attribute the existence and stability of closed — edge-free — membranes to a high level of edge tension, which prevents spontaneous fragmentation: “Membranes hate edges” [1]. Fragmentation of a membrane, for example, in digestion, requires the reduction of edge tension to a very low level. We can suppose that chemicals such as bile salts bind to the open edge and shield the hydrocarbon from water due to their amphiphilic character [2, 3].
This research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Schwerpunkt „Biophysik der Zelle,“ Fr349/4 and Sonderforschungsbereich 239, D7)
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© 1990 Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg
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Fromherz, P. (1990). Modulation of the Edge Tension of Lipid Membranes by Cholate and Cholesterol and the Micelle-Vesicle Transition in Model Bile Systems. In: Swobodnik, W., Soloway, R.D., Ditschuneit, H. (eds) Gallstone Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74619-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74619-2_3
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