Topology and Kinetic Pathways of Colloidosome Assembly and Disassembly

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adkins, Raymond, Robaszewski, Joanna, Shin, Seungwoo, Brauns, Fridtjof, Jia, Leroy, Khanra, Ayantika, Sharma, Prerna, Pelcovits, Robert, Powers, Thomas R., Dogic, Zvonimir
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Adkins, Raymond
Robaszewski, Joanna
Shin, Seungwoo
Brauns, Fridtjof
Jia, Leroy
Khanra, Ayantika
Sharma, Prerna
Pelcovits, Robert
Powers, Thomas R.
Dogic, Zvonimir
author_facet Adkins, Raymond
Robaszewski, Joanna
Shin, Seungwoo
Brauns, Fridtjof
Jia, Leroy
Khanra, Ayantika
Sharma, Prerna
Pelcovits, Robert
Powers, Thomas R.
Dogic, Zvonimir
contents Liquid shells, such as lipid vesicles and soap bubbles, are ubiquitous throughout biology, engineered matter, and everyday life. Their creation and disintegration are defined by a singularity that separates a topologically distinct extended liquid film from a boundary-free closed shell. Such topology-changing processes are essential for cellular transport and drug delivery. However, their studies are challenging because of the rapid dynamics and small length scale of conventional lipid vesicles. We develop fluid colloidosomes, micron-sized analogs of lipid vesicles. We study their stability close to their disk-to-sphere topological transition. Intrinsic colloidal length and time scales slow down the dynamics to reveal vesicle conformations in real time during their assembly and disassembly. Remarkably, the lowest-energy pathway by which a closed vesicle transforms into a disk involves a topologically distinct cylinder-like intermediate. These results reveal universal aspects of topological changes in all liquid shells and a robust platform for the encapsulation, transport, and delivery of nanosized cargoes.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_04628
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Topology and Kinetic Pathways of Colloidosome Assembly and Disassembly
Adkins, Raymond
Robaszewski, Joanna
Shin, Seungwoo
Brauns, Fridtjof
Jia, Leroy
Khanra, Ayantika
Sharma, Prerna
Pelcovits, Robert
Powers, Thomas R.
Dogic, Zvonimir
Soft Condensed Matter
Liquid shells, such as lipid vesicles and soap bubbles, are ubiquitous throughout biology, engineered matter, and everyday life. Their creation and disintegration are defined by a singularity that separates a topologically distinct extended liquid film from a boundary-free closed shell. Such topology-changing processes are essential for cellular transport and drug delivery. However, their studies are challenging because of the rapid dynamics and small length scale of conventional lipid vesicles. We develop fluid colloidosomes, micron-sized analogs of lipid vesicles. We study their stability close to their disk-to-sphere topological transition. Intrinsic colloidal length and time scales slow down the dynamics to reveal vesicle conformations in real time during their assembly and disassembly. Remarkably, the lowest-energy pathway by which a closed vesicle transforms into a disk involves a topologically distinct cylinder-like intermediate. These results reveal universal aspects of topological changes in all liquid shells and a robust platform for the encapsulation, transport, and delivery of nanosized cargoes.
title Topology and Kinetic Pathways of Colloidosome Assembly and Disassembly
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.04628