Title: Adhesion of fluid filled thin structures.

Adhesion is an important phenomenon that has implications in mechanical as well as biological

systems. Adhesion influences many biological processes such as endocytosis, exocytosis and
also have high relevance in efficient drug delivery. Experimental investigation of cell mechanics
show that mechanical property of cell membranes also play an important role. Lipid bilayer
vesicles are closed membranes, which present a simple yet promising model for biological
membranes. Vesicle membranes are essentially thin structures but bending is significant
compared to tension and shear. The shapes of adhered vesicles are a result of by the competition
between the bending and adhesion. Adhesion of thin elastic and viscoelastic structures also find
importance in industrial applications such as in operation processes of Micro electro-mechanical
systems (MEMS).
In the State of the Art Seminar, I will review the existing literature on adhesion of thin fluid filled
structures and propose new directions in theoretical and experimental research in the field.
Keywords: membrane, vesicle, adhesion, contact