A tutorial for mesoscale computer simulations of lipid membranes: tether pulling, tubulation and fluctuations.

Lipid membranes and membrane deformations are a long-standing area of research in soft matter and biophysics. Computer simulations have complemented analytical and experimental approaches as one of the pillars in the field. However, setting up and using membrane simulations can come with barriers due to the multidisciplinary effort involved and the vast choice of existing simulations models.

Manipulation of Magnetic Beads with Thin Film Microelectromagnet Traps.

Integration of point-of-care assays can be facilitated with the use of actuated magnetic beads (MB) to perform testing in less expensive settings to enable the delivery of cost-effective care. In this paper we present six different designs of planar microelectromagnets traps (MEMT) with four external coils in series and one central coil connected for an opposite direction of manipulation of MB in microfluidic flows. The development of a simulation tool facilitated the rapid and efficient optimization of designs by presenting the influence of system variables on real time concentrations of MB.