Mixed Systems
Bilayers need not be composed of a single type of lipid and, in fact, most natural membranes are a complex mixture of different lipid molecules. Such mixtures often exhibit properties intermediate to their components, but are also capable of a phenomenon not seen in single component systems: phase separation. If some of the components are liquid at a given temperature while others are in the gel phase, the two phases can coexist in spatially separated populations. This phase separation plays a critical role in biochemical phenomena because membrane components such as proteins can partition into one or the other phase and thus be locally concentrated or activated.
Read more about this topic: Lipid Bilayer Phase Behavior
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