Stable tubular microexovesicles of the erythrocyte membrane induced by dimeric amphiphiles.

It is experimentally observed that adding a dimeric cationic amphiphile to the erythrocyte suspension results in a release of stable tubular microexovesicles from the erythrocyte membrane. Theoretical description starts from the single-inclusion energy, which takes into account anisotropic shape of the dimeric amphiphile. It is shown explicitly that the tubular shape of the microexovesicle is the extremal to the functional yielding the maximum of the average curvature deviator. It is derived for which intrinsic shapes of the membrane inclusions created by the intercalated amphiphiles the maximum of the average curvature deviator coincides with the minimum of the membrane free energy-thereby determining the stable tubular shape.