  Liposomes that achieve a heterogeneous and spatially organized surface
through phase separation have been recognized to be a promising platform for
delivery purposes. However, their design and optimization through
experimentation can be expensive and time-consuming. To assist with the design
and reduce the associated cost, we propose a computational platform for
modeling membrane coarsening dynamics based on the principles of continuum
mechanics and thermodynamics. This model couples phase separation to lateral
flow and accounts for different membrane fluidity within the different phases,
which is known to affect the coarsening dynamics on lipid membranes. The
simulation results are in agreement with the experimental data in terms of
liquid ordered domains area fraction, total domains perimeter over time and
total number of domains over time for two different membrane compositions
(DOPC:DPPC with a 1:1 molar ratio with 15% Chol and DOPC:DPPC with a 1:2 molar
ratio with 25% Chol) that yield opposite and nearly inverse phase behavior.
This quantitative validation shows that the developed platform can be a
valuable tool in complementing experimental practice. Keywords: Multicomponent
Membranes; Membrane fluidity; Membrane Phase Separation; Computational
Modeling; Fluorescence Microscopy; Liposomes
