Molecular modeling of the pathways of vesicle–membrane interaction

In this work we systematically investigate the pathways of the interaction between elastic vesicles and lipid membranes with the aid of computer simulation techniques. Different vesicle responses to the vesicle–membrane adhesion, including vesicle fusion, vesicle hemi-fusion, vesicle adhesion, vesicle endocytosis and vesicle rupture, are observed from our simulations. We also investigate how the pathways of vesicle–membrane interaction depend on the adhesion strength, and the membrane and vesicle properties.