825
Views
33
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Invited Articles

Living systems and liquid crystals

Pages 1699-1714 | Received 01 Jun 2011, Accepted 05 Jul 2011, Published online: 22 Nov 2011
 

Abstract

The chemical, physical and electrical properties of naturally occurring liquid crystals are fundamentally linked to the functions of certain biological systems. This review focuses primarily on the liquid crystalline properties of cell membranes and the two-dimensional smectic A model used to describe the lipid bilayer structure that it forms. The composition of mammalian cells is considered along with the effects that disease has on the changes to the molecular composition, and the elastic and electrical properties of the cell membrane. Particular emphasis is given to the role that the flexoelectric effect in a two-dimensional lipid bilayer plays in mechanotransduction (the conversion of a mechanical stimulus to an electrical signal) in living systems. The intrinsic electrical properties arising from the membrane composition itself in terms of the transmembrane, surface and membrane dipole potential are considered in relation to the liquid crystalline structure of the cell membrane and the latest measurement techniques for the measurement of membrane electrical potentials are presented.

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges funding from the Royal Society through a University Research Fellowship for the original work presented in Section 4.3.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.