Superselectivity in Weakly Multivalent Targeting of Supported Lipid Bilayers

Understanding how multivalency contributes to targeting dynamic lipid membranes is challenging. We show superselectivity in the multiple weak interactions formed between vesicles displaying nickel(II)-complexing nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA(Ni)) and histidine (His)-displaying supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). The lateral mobility of receptors on the SLBs led to receptor recruitment inside the contact area between vesicle and SLB and depletion outside of the contact area in the case of low receptor density at the SLB and high ligand density in the targeting vesicles.<br/><br/>