Pathways connecting two opposed bilayers with a fusion pore: a molecularly-informed phase field approach

A phase field model with two phase fields, representing the concentration and the head-tail separation of amphiphilic molecules, respectively, has been constructed using an extension of the Ohta-Kawasaki model (Macromolecules, 1986, 19, 2621-2632). It is shown that this molecularly-informed phase field model is capable of producing various self-assembled amphiphilic aggregates, such as bilayers, vesicles and micelles. Furthermore, pathways …