Simulating vesicle-substrate adhesion using two phase field functions

A phase field model for simulating the adhesion of a cell membrane to a substrate is constructed. The model features two phase field functions which are used to simulate the membrane and the substrate. An energy model is defined which accounts for the elastic bending energy and the contact potential energy as well as, through a penalty method, vesicle volume and surface area constraints. Numerical results are provided to verify our model and to provide visual illustrations of the interactions between a lipid vesicle and substrates having complex shapes. Examples are also provided for the adhesion process in the presence of gravitational and point pulling forces. A comparison with experimental results demonstrates the effectiveness of the two phase field approach.