SELF-CONSISTENT THEORY OF BOUND VESICLES

For a vesicle bound to a substrate, a theory is introduced that relates its macroscopic shape with the mesoscopic fluctuations of its bound part self-consistently. Based on a novel form of the steric interaction, which covers both the rigidity-dominated and tension-dominated regimes, the conditions under which vesicles undergo tension-induced adhesion are shown to be very restrictive. Implications for the interpretation of a recent experiment by Rädler et al. [Phys. Rev. E 51, 4526 (1995)] are discussed. © 1995 The American Physical Society.