Abstract
The phase behaviour of a suspension of colloids near a soft interface is investigated. Particular emphasis is given to entropic interactions mediated by membrane fluctuations and their consequences on the local (re)organization of the suspension. In a generalized van der Waals description, the suspension undergoes a first-order phase transition where a dense phase of colloids coexists with a dilute one. We predict a decrease of the critical volume fraction compared to the value in the absence of fluctuation-induced interactions. These results highlight potential applications of entropic forces to control the thermodynamic state of a colloidal suspension.