Physical aspects of heterogeneities in multi-component lipid membranes

Ever since the raft model for biomembranes has been proposed, the traditional view of biomembranes based on the fluid-mosaic model has been altered. In the raft model, dynamical heterogeneities in multi-component lipid bilayers play an essential role. Focusing on the lateral phase separation of biomembranes and vesicles, we review some of the most relevant research conducted over the last decade. We mainly refer to those experimental works that are based on physical chemistry approach, and to theoretical explanations given in terms of soft matter physics. In the first part, we describe the phase behavior and the conformation of multi-component lipid bilayers. After formulating the hydrodynamics of fluid membranes in the presence of the surrounding solvent, we discuss the domain growth-law and decay rate of concentration fluctuations. Finally, we review several attempts to describe membrane rafts as two-dimensional microemulsion. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.