What is Membrane curvature?

Membrane curvature is the geometrical measure or characterization of the curvature of membranes.The membranes can be naturally occurring or man-made. An example of naturally occurring membrane is the lipid bilayer of cells, also known as cellular membranes. Synthetic membranes can be obtained by preparing aqueous solutions of certain lipids. The lipids will then "aggregate" and form various phases and structures. According to the conditions and the chemical structures of the lipid, different phases will be observed. For instance, the lipid POPC tends to form lamellar vesicles in solution, whereas smaller lipids , such as detergents, will form micelles if the CMC was reached.