Lipid Bilayers: Diffusion and Mechanisms

This lecture explores the reasons behind the diversity of lipids in biological membranes and their impact on diffusion mechanisms within lipid bilayers. Topics include the collective diffusive motions of neighboring lipids, the process of lipid flip-flop between bilayer sheets, the role of proteins like flipases and scramblases in lipid movement, membrane heterogeneity and asymmetry, and the concept of lipid rafts. Additionally, the lecture discusses the composition of liposomes with different lipid mixtures and the origin of biological phase separation. The asymmetric transverse distribution of lipids in the lipid bilayer and the action of kinases and phosphatases on phosphoinositides are also covered.