Kurt A. Smith1, Anna C. Balazs1, and David Jasnow2. (1) Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, 1249 Benedum Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, (2) Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, 1249 Benedum Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261
We examine the interaction of fluid bilayer membranes, formed by amphiphiles, with colloidal particles. Transport of particles across a membrane is crucial to cell biology and of potential importance in technologies based on lipid or copolymer vesicles. We use a dissipative particle dynamics model to study the behavior of a fluid membrane in the presence of an attractive particle. We study the the effect of particle size and shape, as well as membrane composition, on the interaction of particle and membrane.