Mechanical instability generates monodisperse colloidosomes

Abstract

Formation and rupture of vesicles is a fundamental process underlying diverse phenomena in biology, materials science, and biomedical applications. Vesicles form when the area of a growing disk-like membrane exceeds a critical value at which the edge and bending energies balance each other. Observing such topological transitions in lipid bilayers is a challenge because of their nanoscale dimensions and rapid dynamics. We study a scaled-up model of colloidal membranes assembled from rod-shaped colloidal particles. The unique features of colloidal membranes enable the real-time visualization of spontaneous closure driven by instability relevant to all membrane-based materials. First-principles theory quantitatively predicts the instability point for vesicle formation and intermediate membrane conformations during the disk-to-vesicle transition. The instability generates monodisperse, selectively permeable colloidosomes with size controlled by gravity and membrane thickness, providing a scalable and programmable platform for diverse applications.