Fig. 2. Free energy landscape.
a, Schematic of a multisome with a single inner aqueous droplet, showing the definition of the contact angles θi relative to the horizontal. The arrows labelled γm and γb represent the monolayer and bilayer surface tensions, respectively. b, Free energy of bilayer formation for an encapsulated droplet, as a function of the contact angles θ2 and θ3. The landscape was computed assuming an oil drop radius of R1 = 400 μm, an aqueous droplet radius of R2 = 200 μm, a monolayer surface tension of γm = 5 mN m−1, and a ratio of bilayer to monolayer surface tensions of γb/γm = 0.68. Arrows indicate the direction of steepest descent. The geometry of the multisome is depicted at various points in the landscape, including the state of minimum free energy at (θ1, θ2, θ3) = (33°, 173°, 77°).