Introduction to the Physics of Biomaterials: The Role of Membranes

Abstract

Six years ago, in 1989, the topic addressed in this series of NATO Advanced Study Institutes was “States and Phase Transitions in Soft Condensed Matter” [1]. At that time, the ASI confronted a broad spectrum of contemporary issues in complex fluid science including polymers, colloids, ferrofluids, membranes, microemulsions, and other macromolecular systems. This year the topic is “Physics of Biomaterials: Fluctuations, Self-Assembly and Evoluton”, which is one of the principal directions in which soft condensed matter has evolved. Once again, I’ve been asked to set the stage for a marvelous series of lecturers who will present material at the cutting edge of the field. The topics include protein folding, statistical and evolutionary aspects of DNA coding, biomolecular motor dynamics, neural nets, and coupled membrane-protein systems. Indeed I’m delighted to be here because there will be an enormous amount for me to learn. I, by no means, feel competant to provide any reasonable introduction to this broad array of subjects; neither do I possess the background in modern molecular and cellular biology that is necessary to place these topics in their proper context. Therefore these lectures will be restricted to a review of an area in which we in Santa Barbara have some experience, namely, lipid self-assembly to form membranes and their resulting interactions with various types of inclusions. This written extended abstract will discuss our rationale for treating this class of problems.