Curvature instability in membranes

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Abstract
A simple, thermodynamical model was proposed some time ago [1, 2] to describe the physical properties of various systems for which the curvature elastic energy plays an important role. The basis of this model is provided by the notions of effective rigidity and spontaneous curvature. Here we consider the case of bilayer membranes and generalize the model for situations where small adsorbed molecules — a possible source of non-zero spontaneous curvature — can diffuse within the membrane. We show that under certain conditions they destabilize the membrane completely. This « curvature instability » can help to explain certain observed shape transformations of real membranes, such as the echinocytosis of red blood cells