ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a materials view of the lipid membrane as a cohesive material structure and, where appropriate, comparisons will be made between bilayer surface properties and more familiar bulk material properties of oils and common hydrocarbon polymer. It focuses on the use of the micropipet method to measure lipid bilayer elastic expansion and failure and bending for liquid lipid bilayers, including the effects of changing composition. The resistance to bending appears to originate from differential expansion and compression of adjacent layers within the lipid bilayer membrane and, as such, should reflect the increased cohesion that cholesterol brings to each interface. The permeability of lipid bilayers to water- and other bilayer-soluble components will depend strongly on the state of lateral cohesion that the bilayer exhibits and the presence of defects. Lipids spontaneously assemble in aqueous media into lipid bilayer capsules.
