Lipid bilayers: thermodynamics, structure, fluctuations, and interactions.

Molecular Insight into the Mutual Interactions of Two Transmembrane Domains of Human Glycine Receptor (TM23-GlyR), with the Lipid Bilayers

Appearing as a computational microscope, MD simulation can ‘zoom in’ to atomic resolution to assess detailed interactions of a membrane protein with its surrounding lipids, which play important roles in the stability and function of such proteins. This study has employed the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, to determine the effect of added DMPC or DMTAP molecules on the structure of D...

Monte Carlo simulations of lipid bilayers and lipid protein interactions in the light of recent experiments

Statistical thermodynamics simulations in recent years have considerably altered the view of biological and model membranes. Fluctuations in concentration and state, as well as in area and volume, have led to the prediction of a domain structure and anomalies in the elastic constants. New experiments support the predictions made from these models. Domains have been found and elasticities have b...

Structure of lipid bilayers.

The quantitative experimental uncertainty in the structure of fully hydrated, biologically relevant, fluid (L(alpha)) phase lipid bilayers has been too large to provide a firm base for applications or for comparison with simulations. Many structural methods are reviewed including modern liquid crystallography of lipid bilayers that deals with the fully developed undulation fluctuations that occ...

Molecular view of cholesterol flip-flop and chemical potential in different membrane environments.

The relative stability of cholesterol in cellular membranes and the thermodynamics of fluctuations from equilibrium have important consequences for sterol trafficking and lateral domain formation. We used molecular dynamics computer simulations to investigate the partitioning of cholesterol in a systematic set of lipid bilayers. In addition to atomistic simulations, we undertook a large set of ...

Structure and Interactions of Lipid Bilayers: Role of Fluctuations