Correlation between the In-Plane Critical Behavior and Out-of-Plane Interaction of Ternary Lipid Membranes

Liquid-liquid phase-separating lipid membranes belong to the 2-D Ising universality class. While their in-plane critical behaviors are well studied, how the behaviors modulate out-of-plane interactions is rarely explored, despite its profound implications for biomembranes and 2-D ferromagnets. Here, we examine how the interlayer interaction, manifested as membrane fusion, is affected by the membranes’ critical fluctuations. Remarkably, the critical fluctuations suppress membrane fusion, suggesting a correlation between critical behaviors and interlayer interactions for 2-D Ising systems.