Morphological transformations of vesicles with confined filaments

Packing of elastic filaments, encompassing cytoskeletal microtubules, actin filaments, and artificial nanotubes, is fundamental to understanding a wide range of cellular functions and their applications in cellular engineering. Through theoretical analysis, we examine the packing of open or closed filaments within vesicles, unveiling how the stiffness and size ratios between filaments and vesicles lead to transitions in vesicle configurations, inducing filament bending or coiling. Morphological phase diagrams are established to elucidate these shifts. These findings shed light on the understanding of cell morphology, cellular stability, and the construction of artificial cells in biomedical and engineering contexts.