Figure 15.

Change in energy upon full fusion of the membranes on two membrane-coated silica spheres. The different values of the spontaneous curvature c₀ are color-coded. Black lines depict the van der Waals energy released by the interaction of the two spheres, thus total energy change below this line is negative. Green dots indicate the potential minimum, i.e., the contact angle with minimal free energy for given spontaneous curvature [μm⁻¹]. To see this figure in color, go online.