Domain formation in bicomponent vesicles induced by composition-curvature coupling

Abstract: Lipid vesicles composed of a mixture of two types of lipids are studied by intensive Monte-Carlo numerical simulations. The coupling between the local composition and the membrane shape is induced by two different spontaneous curvatures of the components. We explore the various morphologies of these biphasic vesicles coupled to the observed patterns such as nano-domains or labyrinthine mesophases. The effect of the difference in curvatures, the surface tension and the interaction parameter between components are thoroughly explored. Our numerical results quantitatively agree with previous analytical results obtained by [Gueguen et al., Eur. Phys. J. E, 2014, vol. 37, p. 76] in the disordered (high temperature) phase. Numerical simulations allow us to explore the full parameter space, especially close to and below the critical temperature, where analytical results are not accessible. Phase diagrams are constructed and domain morphologies are quantitatively studied by computing the structure factor and the domain size distribution. This mechanism likely explains the existence of nano-domains in cell membranes as observed by super-resolution fluorescence microscopy.