Simulations of lipid vesicle rupture induced by an adjacent supported lipid bilayer patch

Using a simple phenomenological model of a lipid bilayer and a surface, simulations were performed to study the bilayer-induced vesicle rupture probability as a vesicle adsorbs adjacently to a bilayer patch already adsorbed on the surface. The vesicle rupture probability was studied as a function of temperature, vesicle size, and surface–bilayer interaction strength. From the simulation data, estimates of the apparent activation energy for bilayer-induced vesicle rupture were calculated, both for different vesicle sizes and for different surface–bilayer interaction strengths.