On the statistical mechanics of  closed membranes (vesicles)

Nikolay Tonchev

Institute of Solid State Physics, Sofia

One of the most widely used methods for determination of the bending elasticity   modulus  of model lipid membranes is the analysis of the shape fluctuations of nearly spherical lipid vesicles. The theoretical basis of this analysis is   given by Milner and Safran. In their theory the stretching effects are not   considered. In the present study we generalized their approach including the   stretching effects  deduced after  application of the statistical mechanics to vesicles.