Starfish vesicles

Abstract

We report on an experimental and theoretical study of phospholipid vesicles at small reduced volume. In this regime, vesicle shapes are non-axisymmetric and resemble starfish. To calculate these shapes, we minimize bending energy under constraints on area, volume and mean curvature on a triangulated surface. We find a multitude of locally stable starfish that have practically the same energy but look very different. Each starfish is build up from basically three different units: a core, several cylindrical arms and spherical caps at the end of these arms.