The relative flow of the walls of phospholipid tether bilayers

Lipid nanotubes or “tethers” can be formed from liposomes or niosomes, pulled from the parent vesicles by micromanipulation. The tethers are cylindrical multibilayer tubes. Here, we describe the movement of these multilamellar walls, initiated by creating a surface tension gradient along the tether. The movement of lipid can give rise to a visible moving boundary. In the case of bilayer membranes, a tangential gradient in surface tension produces membrane bulk flow toward regions of higher surface tension. The flow of the bilayers comprising the tether nanotubes seems to be restricted to the inner bilayers, creating a velocity gradient in the bilayers. In this study, we discuss the implementation of tension-driven flows as a transport method in a tether-vesicle network. Interactions between fluid within the tether channels and the lipid layers are important, leading to anomalies in the transport of fluids and particles compared to bulk systems.