Tension and solute depletion in multilamellar vesicles.

We show that a metastable multilamellar vesicle ("onion"), in contact with excess solvent, can spontaneously deplete solute molecules from its interior through an unusual, entropy-driven mechanism. Fluctuation entropy is gained as the uneven partition of solute molecules helps the onion relieve tension in its lamellae. This mechanism accounts for recent experiments on the interaction between uncharged phospholipid onions and dissolved sugars.