Morphology transformation of a vesicle induced by a pair of encapsulated particles

We begin with a pair of spherical particles encapsulated in a vesicle and solve the problem within the self-consistent field theory (SCFT) to investigate the morphology transformation of the vesicle induced by two nano-particles. The vesicles are based on amphiphilic diblock copolymer AB in homopolymer A solvents. The nano-particles are simple models of proteins or colloids. We predict different vesicle structures, and relate these morphologies to particle size, distances between two particles, and volume fraction of the vesicles. It is found complex structures of the vesicle are induced by the twin particles: several or one reverse micelle surrounded by the outer monolayer; two micelles. These results are of immediate interest to the interactions of vesicles and particles, as well as to the transitions of vesicles to micelles.