Tuning length-scales of small domains in cell-derived membranes and synthetic model membranes

Micron-scale, coexisting liquid-ordered (Lo) and liquid-disordered (Ld) phases are straightforward to observe in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUV) composed of ternary lipid mixtures. Experimentally, uniform membranes undergo demixing when temperature is decreased: domains subsequently nucleate, diffuse, collide, and coalesce until only one domain of each phase remains. The sizes of these two domains are limited only by the size of the system. Under different conditions, vesicles exhibit smaller-scale domains of fixed sizes, leading to the question of what sets the length-scale.

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