Related papers: Water permeation through stratum corneum lipid bil…
Cholesterol (Chol) plays a crucial role in shaping the intricate physicochemical attributes of biomembranes, exerting considerable influence on water molecules proximal to the membrane interface. In this study, we conducted molecular…
Phase diagrams of some globular proteins have a fluid-fluid transition as well as a fluid-crystal transition. Homogeneous nucleation of the crystal from the fluid phase near the critical point of the fluid-fluid transition is examined. As…
In spite of the great success that all-atom molecular dynamics simulations have seen in revealing the nature of the lipid bilayer, the interplay between a membrane's curvature and dynamics remains elusive. This is largely due to the…
Transient electric fields across cell bilayer membranes can lead to electroporation, as well as to cell fusion, and have been extensively studied. We find that transmembrane electric fields similar to those in cells can lead to a massive,…
Biomembranes consisting of two opposing phospholipid monolayers, which comprise the so-called lipid bilayer, are largely responsible for the dual solid-fluid behavior of individual cells and viruses. Quantifying the mechanical…
The separation of colloidal particles from fluids is essential to ensure a safe global supply of drinking water, yet in the case of microscopic particles, it remains a highly energy-intensive process when using traditional filtration…
Hydrophobic thickness mismatch between integral membrane proteins and the surrounding lipid bilayer can produce lipid bilayer thickness deformations. Experiment and theory have shown that protein-induced lipid bilayer thickness deformations…
The outstanding lubrication of articular cartilage in the major synovial joints such as hips and knees, essential for the joint well-being, has been attributed to boundary layers of lipids at the outer cartilage surfaces, which have very…
In biological membranes, alpha-tocopherols ({\alpha}-toc; vitamin E) protect polyunsaturated lipids from free radicals. Although the interactions of {\alpha}-toc with non-oxidized lipid bilayers have been studied, their on oxidized bilayers…
An accurate description of the structure and dynamics of interfacial water is essential for phospholipid membranes, since it determines their function and their interaction with other molecules. Here we consider water confined in stacked…
The large-conductance, calcium-activated potassium (BK) channel lacks the typical intracellular bundle-crossing gate present in most ion channels of the 6TM family. This observation, initially inferred from Ca$^{2+}$-free-pore accessibility…
The electropermeabilization of biological cell membranes by the application of an external field occurs whenever an applied field exceeds a threshold value. For fields above this threshold value but less than another critical value, the…
We present a simple and computationally efficient coarse-grained and solvent-free model for simulating lipid bilayer membranes. In order to be used in concert with particle-based reaction-diffusion simulations, the model is purely based on…
We characterized the structural and dynamical properties of the quasi-liquid layer (QLL) at the surface of ice by molecular dynamics simulations with a thermodynamically consistent water model. Our simulations show that for three low-index…
Apparent liquid permeability (ALP) in ultra-confined permeable media is primarily governed by the pore confinement and fluid-rock interactions. A new ALP model is required to predict the interactive effect of the above two on the flow in…
Hydrogel consists of a crosslinked polymer matrix imbibed with a solvent such as water at volume fractions that can exceed 90\%. They are important in many scientific and engineering applications due to their tunable physiochemical…
We study the indentation of a free-standing lipid membrane suspended over a nanopore on a hydrophobic substrate by means of molecular dynamics simulations. We find that in the course of indentation, the membrane bends at the point of…
Most organic and inorganic surfaces (e.g., glass, nucleic acids or lipid membranes) become charged in aqueous solutions. The resulting ionic distribution induces effective interactions between the charged surfaces. Stacks of like-charged…
Hyaluronic acid is an abundant polyelectrolyte in the human body that forms extracellular hydrogels in connective tissues. It is essential for regulating tissue biomechanics and cell-cell communication, yet hyaluronan overexpression is…
The study of interactions between biomimetic membranes and micron-sized particles is crucial for understanding various biological processes. Here, we control microparticle spontaneous engulfment by giant lipid vesicles by tuning particle…