Non-equilibrium dynamics of confined lipid membranes: a prototype for complex biological interfaces

Resumo: Lipid membranes are ubiquitous in biological systems. They play a central role at complex biological interfaces. They have been observed not only as cell walls, but also as protective coatings in articular joints, in the lungs, the eye, and in the skin. Due to molecular crowding or to the complex architecture of living matter, these membranes are usually subject to strong confinement conditions. Using hydrodynamic models we have studied theoretically the influence of confinement on membrane dynamics. Depending on the conditions, the nonlinear dynamics of the membranes produce frozen patches (which exhibit an order-disorder transition), or coarsening dynamics. The role of noise is also discussed.