Modelling the dynamics of vesicle reshaping and scission under osmotic shocks

We study the effects of osmotic shocks on lipid vesicles via coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations by explicitly considering the solute in the system. We find that depending on their nature (hypo- or hypertonic) such shocks can lead to bursting events or engulfing of external material into inner compartments, among other morphology transformations. We characterize the dynamics of these processes and observe a separation of time scales between the osmotic shock absorption and the shape relaxation. Our work consequently provides an insight into the dynamics of compartmentalization in vesicular systems as a result of osmotic shocks, which can be of interest in the context of early proto-cell development and proto-cell compartmentalisation.

Automated summary

The study reveals that osmotic shocks can result in bursting events or engulfing of external material in lipid vesicles, with a separation of time scales between osmotic shock absorption and shape relaxation being observed. This work offers insights into compartmentalization dynamics in vesicular systems, relevant for early proto-cell development and proto-cell compartmentalisation.