3D - 2

What materials to use to build a 3d model of the phospholipid bilayer?

I'm making a 3D model of the phospholipid bilayer (http://library.thinkquest.org/C004535/media/cell_membrane.gif), but I don't know what materials to use. I've tried play-doh, but it's not too good at keeping together. I was going to get plasticine, but someone had told me that it would be way too heavy. I need parts for: the lipids (head and tail), proteins, carbohydrates, cytoskeleton filaments, and cholesterol. I'm thinking about using yarn for the tails of the lipids and the cytoskeleton filaments, but yeah... Anyone have any ideas? Please help! Thanks so much in advance!

Public Comments

1. Maybe you could try some type of modeling clay instead of Play-Doh? It seems like it would hold its shape and harden up a bit more than Play-Doh would. Some type of clay would probably be good for the blob-type shapes of membrane proteins, at least. Aside from that, the only other type of material I can think of that might work would be styrofoam. Or maybe something like ping pong balls or large beads that could act as the phospholipid heads. Toothpicks might be useful for some of the other structures, such as cholesterol or carbohydrates. Good luck with the project!