Lipid domains and mechanical plasticity of Escherichia coli lipid monolayers

Lipid monolayers can be laterally dilated under the action of the barriers in a Langmuir trough thus allowing for measurements of their mechanical response. We study the stress response of Escherichia coli polar lipid extract and POPC against oscillatory deformations stressed up to a 20% of the initial area. For E. coli monolayers a nonlinear regime described by a series of Fourier harmonics of the excitation mode is found beyond a critical strain (u_C ≈ 1%). In contrast, the mechanical response of POPC monolayers is found linear upon much larger deformations. For E. coli monolayers the stress–strain plot reflects stress softening (plastic-like) behaviour whilst POPC behaves as a linear elastic body. No viscous delay with respect to the applied strain is detected in both systems, as expected for high fluid materials. The presence of phase coexistence domains as lipid reservoirs to facilitate lateral diffusion is claimed as a plausible mechanism underlying the observed mechanical plasticity.