Modeling the spontaneous curvature effects in static cell membrane deformations by a phase field formulation

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effects of the spontaneous curvature on the static deformation of a vesicle membrane under the elastic bending energy, with prescribed bulk volume and surface area. Generalizing the phase field models developed in our previous works, we deduce a new energy formula involving the spontaneous curvature effects. Several axis-symmetric configurations are obtained through numerical simulations. Some analysis on the effects of the spontaneous curvature on the vesicle membrane shapes are also provided.