Editing Biomembranes

These are structures that are found in cells. The best known biomembrane is the
plasma membrane, that separates the cell from the exterior --- but many internal
organelles of the cell have their own membranes. [[Lipids]] are considered to be
their main structural ingredient. Typically, they are ''bilayer'' structures:  [[amphiphilic]] [[aggregates]] in which the lipids expose their hydrophilic "heads"
to the water, while shielding the hydrophobic "tails" in the interior.
== Model membranes ==
The term "model membrane"  has a twofold meaning. For theoreticians, it usually means a theoretical model of the actual microscopic system. For experimentalist, it means a simplified mixture in which only the main ingredients are employed (usually: water, one or several species of lipids, and salts).
== References ==
*[http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/a906472i Maddalena Venturoli and Berend Smit "Simulating the self-assembly of model membranes"  PhysChemComm '''2''' pp. 45-49 (1999) ]
*[http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/3-540-35284-8_11 Berend Smit, Marieke Kranenburg, M., Maria Maddalena Sperotto, and Maddalena Venturoli "Mesoscopic models of biological membranes", Lecture Notes in Physics  '''704''' pp. 259-286 (2006)]
*[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2006.07.006  Maddalena Venturoli, Maria Maddalena Sperotto, Marieke Kranenburg, and Berend Smit "Mesoscopic models of biological membranes" Physics Reports '''437''' pp. 1-54 (2006)]
[[category: Complex systems]]
[[category: biological systems]]