Adhesion of Membranes via Anchored Stickers

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Abstract
Interacting membranes are studied which experience generic repulsive and specific attractive forces. The latter are mediated by anchored stickers, i.e., by anchored molecules with adhesive segments. This mechanism which underlies the adhesion of cell membranes can be studied in systems consisting of lipid bilayers with anchored polymers. It is shown that flexible membranes can adhere only by stickers if the sticker concentration exceeds a certain tension-dependent threshold. If the multicomponent membranes undergo phase separation, their adhesion is dominated by the sticker-rich domains.