When liquid phases coexist at equilibrium but are not driven to minimize domain interfacial contact energy, the resulting patterns of phase domains can have important implications for living cells. In this study we explore some of the interactions and conditions that produce the stable patterned phases that are observed in model lipid mixtures. By use of Monte Carlo simulations we find that background curvature is important for the formation of patterned (modulated) phases. The interactions that stabilize nanoscopic phase separation are still not well understood. We show that inclusion of an electrostatic dipole repulsion with decay lengths as short as two to four lipid diameters can break up domains at the nanometer scale and that the location of the miscibility critical point is sensitive to this interaction. The use of a coarse-grained simulation raises questions about comparing parameters in simulations performed at different length scales. Using renormalization group techniques we show how to reconcile this problem, treating line tension as a running coupling constant.

• Received 3 September 2013
• Revised 2 December 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.89.022702