Publications
-
Articles in scientific journals
-
Books
-
Theses
See also profiles on Publons,
Orcid or
Google Scholar.
1. Articles in scientific journals
 | Conformational Space of the Translocation Domain of Botulinum Toxin: Atomistic Modeling and Mesoscopic
Description of the Coiled-Coil Helix Bundle
Alexandre Delort, Grazia Cottone, Thérèse E. Malliavin, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Int. J. Mol. Sci., 25: 2481, 2024.
 | Flexoelectric fluid membrane vesicles in spherical confinement
Niloufar Abtahi, Lila Bouzar, Nadia Saidi-Amroun, Martin Michael Müller |
EPL, 131(1): 18001, 2020. See also arXiv:2006.04475.
 | Isometric bending requires local constraints on free edges
Jemal Guven, Martin Michael Müller, Pablo Vázquez-Montejo |
Math. Mech. Solids, 24: 4051, 2019. See also arXiv:1904.05855.
 | Helical Superstructure of Intermediate Filaments
Lila Bouzar, Martin Michael Müller, René Messina, Bernd Nöding, Sarah Köster, Hervé Mohrbach, Igor M. Kulić |
Abstract
Read more
Phys. Rev. Lett., 122: 098101, 2019. See also arXiv:1803.04691.
 | Vesicle dynamics in confined steady and harmonically modulated Poiseuille flows
Zakaria Boujja, Chaouqi Misbah, Hamid Ez-Zahraouy, Abdelilah Benyoussef, Thomas John, Christian Wagner, Martin Michael Müller |
We present a numerical study of the time-dependent motion of a membrane vesicle in a
channel under an imposed flow. In a Poiseuille flow the shape of the vesicle depends on the flow strength,
the mechanical properties of the membrane, and the width of the channel. In a wide parameter region, the
emerging snaking shape shows an oscillatory motion like a swimmer flagella even though the flow is
stationary. We quantify this behavior by the amplitude and frequency of the oscillations of the vesicle's
center of mass. The influence of an amplitude modulation of the imposed flow on the dynamics and shape of
the snaking vesicle is also investigated. We find that this modulation---when sufficiently small---induces
a modulation in amplitude and frequency of the center of mass of the snaking vesicle. For large
modulation amplitudes transitions to static shapes are observed.
 Reduce
Phys. Rev. E, 98: 043111, 2018. See also arXiv:1810.04500.
 | Confining a fluid membrane vesicle of toroidal topology in an adhesive hard sphere
Lila Bouzar, Ferhat Menas, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Read more
IOP Conf. Series: MSE, 186: 012021, 2017.
 | Squeezed helical elastica
Lila Bouzar, Martin Michael Müller, Pierre Gosselin, Igor M. Kulić, Hervé Mohrbach |
Abstract
Read more
Eur. Phys. J. E, 39: 114, 2016. See also arXiv:1606.03611.
 | How bio-filaments twist membranes
Julien Fierling, Albert Johner, Igor M. Kulić, Hervé Mohrbach, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Soft Matter, 12: 5747, 2016.
 | Toroidal membrane vesicles in spherical confinement
Lila Bouzar, Ferhat Menas, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Read more
Phys. Rev. E, 92: 032721, 2015. See also arXiv:1509.00765.
 | Non-linear buckling and symmetry breaking of a soft elastic sheet sliding on a cylindrical substrate
Norbert Stoop, Martin Michael Müller |
We consider the axial compression of a thin sheet wrapped around a rigid cylindrical substrate. In contrast to the wrinkling-to-fold transitions exhibited in similar systems, we find that the sheet always buckles into a single symmetric fold, while periodic solutions are unstable. Upon further compression, the solution breaks symmetry and stabilizes into a recumbent fold. Using linear analysis and numerics, we theoretically predict the buckling force and energy as a function of the compressive displacement. We compare our theory to experiments employing cylindrical neoprene sheets and find remarkably good agreement.
Reduce
Read more
Int. J. Non-Linear Mech., 75: 115, 2015. See also arXiv:1503.05030.
 | Crunching Biofilament Rings
Julien Fierling, Martin Michael Müller, Hervé Mohrbach, Albert Johner, Igor M. Kulić |
We discuss a curious example for the collective mechanical behavior of coupled non-linear monomer units entrapped in a circular filament. Within a simple model we elucidate how multistability of monomer units and exponentially large degeneracy of the filament's ground state emerge as a collective feature of the closed filament. Surprisingly, increasing the monomer frustration, i.e., the bending prestrain within the circular filament, leads to a conformational softening of the system. The phenomenon, that we term polymorphic crunching, is discussed and applied to a possible scenario for membrane tube deformation by switchable dynamin or FtsZ filaments. We find an important role of cooperative inter-unit interaction for efficient ring induced membrane fission.
Reduce
Read more
Europhys. Lett., 107(6): 68002, 2014. See also arXiv:1408.6787.
 | Confotronic dynamics of tubular filaments
Osman Kahraman, Hervé Mohrbach, Martin Michael Müller, Igor M. Kulić |
Abstract
Read more
Soft Matter, 10(16): pp. 2836-2847, 2014. See also arXiv:1312.3106.
 | Whirling skirts and rotating cones
Jemal Guven, J. A. Hanna, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
New J. Phys., 15: 113055, 2013. See also arXiv:1306.2619.
 | Myotubularin and PtdIns3P remodel the sarcoplasmic reticulum in muscle in vivo
Leonela Amoasii, Karim Hnia, Gaëtan Chicanne, Andreas Brech, Belinda Simone Cowling, Martin Michael Müller, Yannick Schwab, Pascale Koebel, Arnaud Ferry, Bernard Payrastre, Jocelyn Laporte |
Abstract
J. Cell Sci., 126(8): 1806, 2013.
 | Dipoles in thin sheets
Jemal Guven, J. A. Hanna, Osman Kahraman, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Read more
Eur. Phys. J. E, 36: 106, 2013. See also arXiv:1212.3262.
 | Fluid membrane vesicles in confinement
Osman Kahraman, Norbert Stoop, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Read more
New J. Phys., 14: 095021, 2012.
 | Petal shapes of sympetaleous flowers: the interplay between growth, geometry and elasticity
Martine Ben Amar, Martin Michael Müller, Miguel Trejo |
The growth of a thin elastic sheet imposes constraints on its geometry such as its Gaussian curvature KG.
In this paper, we construct the shapes of sympetalous bell-shaped flowers with a constant Gaussian curvature. Minimizing the bending energies
of both the petal and the veins, we are able to predict quantitatively the global shape of these flowers. We discuss two toy problems
where the Gaussian curvature is either negative or positive. In the former case the axisymmetric pseudosphere turns out to mimic the correct
shape before edge curling; in the latter case, singularities of the mathematical surface coincide with strong veins. Using a variational
minimization of the elastic energy, we find that the optimal number for the veins is either four, five or six, a number which is deceptively
close to the statistics on real flowers in nature.
Reduce
Read more
New J. Phys., 14: 085014, 2012. Also featured in the Highlights of 2012.
 | Morphogenesis of membrane invaginations in spherical confinement
Osman Kahraman, Norbert Stoop, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Read more
Europhys. Lett., 97(6): 68008, 2012. See also arXiv:1201.2518.
 | Conical instabilities on paper
Jemal Guven, Martin Michael Müller, Pablo Vázquez-Montejo |
The stability of the fundamental defects of an unstretchable flat sheet is examined.
This involves expanding the bending energy to second order in deformations about the
defect. The modes of deformation occur as eigenstates of a fourth-order linear differential
operator. Unstretchability places a global linear constraint on these modes. Conical
defects with a surplus angle exhibit an infinite number of states. If this angle is below a
critical value, these states possess an n-fold symmetry labeled by an integer, n ≥ 2. A
nonlinear stability analysis shows that the 2-fold ground state is stable, whereas excited
states possess 2(n - 2) unstable modes which come in even and odd pairs.
Reduce
Read more
J. Phys. A: Math. Theor., 45(1): 015203, 2012. See also arXiv:1107.5008.
 | Interface-mediated interactions: Entropic forces of curved membranes
Pierre Gosselin, Hervé Mohrbach, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Read more
Phys. Rev. E, 83(5): 051921, 2011. See also arXiv:1011.1221.
 | Self-Contact and Instabilities in the Anisotropic Growth of Elastic Membranes
Norbert Stoop, Falk K. Wittel, Martine Ben Amar, Martin Michael Müller, Hans J. Herrmann |
We investigate the morphology of thin discs and rings growing in circumferential direction. Recent analytical results suggest that this growth produces symmetric excess cones (e-cones). We study the stability of such solutions considering self-contact and bending stress. We show that, contrary to what was assumed in previous analytical solutions, beyond a critical growth factor, no symmetric e-cone solution is energetically minimal any more. Instead, we obtain skewed e-cone solutions having lower energy, characterized by a skewness angle and repetitive spiral winding with increasing growth. These results are generalized to discs with varying thickness and rings with holes of different radii.
Reduce
Read more
Phys. Rev. Lett., 105(6): 068101, 2010. See also arXiv:1007.1871.
 | Cell Model Approach to Membrane Mediated Protein Interactions
Martin Michael Müller, Markus Deserno |
Abstract
Read more
Prog. Theor. Phys. Suppl., 184: pp. 351-363, 2010.
 | Hamiltonian formulation of surfaces with constant Gaussian curvature
Miguel Trejo, Martine Ben Amar, Martin Michael Müller |
Dirac's method for constrained Hamiltonian systems is used to describe surfaces of constant Gaussian curvature. A geometrical free energy, for which these surfaces are equilibrium states, is introduced and interpreted as an action. An equilibrium surface can then be generated by the evolution of a closed space curve.
Since the underlying action depends on second derivatives, the velocity of the curve and its conjugate momentum must be included in the set of phase space variables. Furthermore, the action is linear in the acceleration of the curve and possesses a local symmetry---reparametrization invariance---which implies primary constraints in the canonical formalism. These constraints are incorporated into the Hamiltonian through Lagrange multiplier functions, that are identified as the components of the acceleration of the curve. The formulation leads to four first order partial differential equations, one for each canonical variable.
With the appropriate choice of parametrization only one of these equations has to be solved to obtain the surface which is swept out by the evolving space curve. To illustrate the formalism, several evolutions of pseudospherical surfaces are discussed.
Reduce
Read more
J. Phys. A: Math. Theor., 42(42): 425204, 2009.
 | Local Membrane Mechanics of Pore-Spanning Bilayers
Ingo Mey, Milena Stephan, Eva K. Schmitt, Martin Michael Müller, Martine Ben Amar, Claudia Steinem, Andreas Janshoff |
Abstract
Read more
J. Am. Chem. Soc., 131(20): pp. 7031-7039, 2009.
 | Elasticity Mapping of Pore-Suspending Native Cell Membranes
Bärbel Lorenz, Ingo Mey, Siegfried Steltenkamp, Tamir Fine, Christina Rommel, Martin Michael Müller, Alexander Maiwald, Joachim Wegener, Claudia Steinem, Andreas Janshoff |
Abstract
Read more
Small, 5(7): pp. 832-838, 2009.
 | Conical Defects in Growing Sheets
Martin Michael Müller, Martine Ben Amar, Jemal Guven |
Abstract
Read more
Phys. Rev. Lett., 101(15): 156104, 2008. See also arXiv:0807.1814.
 | How paper folds: bending with local constraints
Jemal Guven, Martin Michael Müller |
Abstract
Read more
J. Phys. A: Math. Theor., 41(5): 055203, 2008. See also arXiv:0712.0978.
 | Contact lines for fluid surface adhesion
Markus Deserno, Martin Michael Müller, Jemal Guven |
When a fluid surface adheres to a substrate, the location of the
contact line adjusts in order to minimize the overall energy. This
adhesion balance implies boundary conditions which depend on the
characteristic surface deformation energies. We develop a general
geometrical framework within which these conditions can be
systematically derived.
We treat both adhesion to a rigid substrate as well as adhesion
between two fluid surfaces, and illustrate our general results for
several important Hamiltonians involving both curvature and
curvature gradients. Some of these have previously been studied
using very different techniques, others are to our knowledge new.
What becomes clear in our approach is that, except for capillary
phenomena, these boundary conditions are not the manifestation
of a local force balance, even if the concept of surface stress is
properly generalized. Hamiltonians containing higher order surface
derivatives are not just sensitive to boundary translations but also
notice changes in slope or even curvature.
Both the necessity and the functional form of the corresponding
additional contributions follow readily from our treatment.
Reduce
Read more
Phys. Rev. E, 76(1): 011605, 2007. See also cond-mat/0703019.
Also featured in the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research.
 | Balancing torques in membrane-mediated interactions: Exact results and
numerical illustrations
Martin Michael Müller, Markus Deserno, Jemal Guven |
Abstract
Read more
Phys. Rev. E, 76(1): 011921, 2007. See also cond-mat/0702340.
Also featured in the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research.
 | Aggregation and vesiculation of membrane proteins by curvature-mediated
interactions
Benedict J. Reynwar, Gregoria Illya, Vagelis A. Harmandaris, Martin Michael Müller, Kurt Kremer, Markus Deserno |
Membrane remodelling plays an important role in cellular tasks such as endocytosis, vesiculation and protein sorting, and in the biogenesis of organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum or the Golgi apparatus. It is well established that the remodelling process is aided by specialized proteins that can sense as well as create membrane curvature, and trigger tubulation when added to synthetic liposomes. Because the energy needed for such large-scale changes in membrane geometry significantly exceeds the binding energy between individual proteins and between protein and membrane, cooperative action is essential. It has recently been suggested that curvature-mediated attractive interactions could aid cooperation and complement the effects of specific binding events on membrane remodelling. But it is difficult to experimentally isolate curvature-mediated interactions from direct attractions between proteins. Moreover, approximate theories predict repulsion between isotropically curving proteins. Here we use coarse-grained membrane simulations to show that curvature-inducing model proteins adsorbed on lipid bilayer membranes can experience attractive interactions that arise purely as a result of membrane curvature. We find that once a minimal local bending is realized, the effect robustly drives protein cluster formation and subsequent transformation into vesicles with radii that correlate with the local curvature imprint. Owing to its universal nature, curvature-mediated attraction can operate even between proteins lacking any specific interactions, such as newly synthesized and still immature membrane proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum.
Reduce
Read more
Nature 447(7143): pp. 461-464, 2007.
 | How to determine local elastic properties of lipid bilayer membranes
from atomic-force-microscope measurements: A theoretical analysis
Davood Norouzi, Martin Michael Müller, Markus Deserno |
Measurements with an atomic force microscope (AFM) offer a direct way to
probe elastic properties of lipid bilayer membranes locally: provided
the underlying stress-strain relation is known, material parameters such as
surface tension or bending rigidity may be deduced.
In a recent experiment a pore-spanning membrane was poked with an AFM tip,
yielding a linear behavior of the force-indentation curves. A theoretical
model for this case is presented here which describes these curves in the
framework of Helfrich theory. The linear behavior of the measurements is
reproduced if one neglects the influence of adhesion between tip and membrane.
Including it via an adhesion balance changes the situation significantly:
force-distance curves cease to be linear, hysteresis and nonzero detachment
forces can show up. The characteristics of this rich scenario are discussed
in detail in this article.
Reduce
Read more
Phys. Rev. E, 74(6): 061914, 2006. See also cond-mat/0602662.
Also featured in the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research.
 | Mechanical Properties of Pore-Spanning Lipid Bilayers Probed by Atomic Force Microscopy
Siegfried Steltenkamp, Martin Michael Müller, Markus Deserno, Christian Hennesthal, Claudia Steinem, Andreas Janshoff |
Abstract
Read more
Biophys. J., 91(1): pp. 217-226, 2006.
 | Interface mediated interactions between particles -- a geometrical approach
Martin Michael Müller, Markus Deserno, Jemal Guven |
Particles bound to an interface interact because they deform its shape.
The stresses that result are fully encoded in the geometry and described
by a divergence-free surface stress tensor. This stress tensor can be
used to express the force on a particle as a line integral along any
conveniently chosen closed contour that surrounds the particle. The
resulting expression is exact (i.e., free of any 'smallness' assumptions)
and independent of the chosen surface parametrization. Additional surface
degrees of freedom, such as vector fields describing lipid tilt, are readily
included in this formalism. As an illustration, we derive the exact force
for several important surface Hamiltonians in various symmetric two-particle
configurations in terms of the midplane geometry; its sign is evident in
certain interesting limits. Specializing to the linear regime, where the
shape can be analytically determined, these general expressions yield
force-distance relations, several of which have originally been derived
by using an energy based approach.
Reduce
Read more
Phys. Rev. E, 72(6): 061407, 2005. See also cond-mat/0506019.
Also featured in the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research.
 | Geometry of surface-mediated interactions
Martin Michael Müller, Markus Deserno, Jemal Guven |
Abstract
Read more
Europhys. Lett., 69(3): pp. 482-488, 2005. See also cond-mat/0409043.
2. Books
-
New Trends in the Physics and Mechanics of Biological Systems
Lecture Notes of the Les Houches Summer School, vol. 92 (Oxford University Press, 2011),
edited by Martine Ben Amar, Alain Goriely, Martin Michael Müller and Leticia Cugliandolo.
Chapter 9:
The physics of the cell membrane
Martin Michael Müller and Martine Ben Amar.
3. Theses
-
Theoretical examinations of interface mediated interactions between colloidal particles,
diploma thesis (2004).
-
Theoretical studies of fluid membrane mechanics, dissertation (2007).
-
Symmetry breaking in bioelasticity, habilitation thesis (2015).
|
