Related papers: Mixing small proteins with lipids and cholesterol
Mixtures of several macromolecular species can lead to the formation of higher-order structures that often display non-ideal mixing behavior. In this work, we propose a minimal model of a quaternary system which considers the formation of a…
We discuss different mechanisms for curvature-induced domain formation in multicomponent lipid membranes and present a theoretical model that allows us to study the interplay between the domains. The model represents the membrane by two…
Phase-separated biomolecular condensates containing proteins and RNAs can assemble into higher-order structures by forming thermodynamically stable interfaces between immiscible phases. Using a minimal model of a protein/RNA interaction…
Although 1-alkanols are widely used as anesthetics and membrane-active agents, the molecular basis of their chain-length-dependent cutoff behavior remains unclear. Here, we perform extensive atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to…
We perform simulations of a system containing simple model proteins and a polymer representing chromatin. We study the interplay between protein-protein and protein-chromatin interactions, and the resulting condensates which arise due to…
Lipid membranes have complex compositions and modeling the thermodynamic properties of multi-component lipid systems remains a remote goal. In this work we attempt to describe the thermodynamics of binary lipid mixtures by mapping…
To understand mechanism of cell-membrane compartmentalization, we studied coarse-grained model systems consisting of lipid and cholesterol molecules. Cholesterol plays crucial role in lateral phase segregation in the bilayered lipid…
Liposomes that achieve a heterogeneous and spatially organized surface through phase separation have been recognized to be a promising platform for delivery purposes. However, their design and optimization through experimentation can be…
Cationic lipid membranes are known to form compact complexes with DNA and to be effective as gene delivery agents both in vitro and in vivo. Here we employ molecular dynamics simulations for a detailed atomistic study of lipid bilayers…
Biological mixtures such as the cytosol may consist of thousands of distinct components. There is now a substantial body of evidence showing that, under physiological conditions, intracellular mixtures can phase separate into spatially…
The connection between membrane inhomogeneity and the structural basis of lipid rafts has sparked interest in the lateral organization of model lipid bilayers of two and three components. In an effort to investigate anisotropic lipid…
We propose and investigate a model for lipid raft formation and dynamics in biological membranes. The model describes the lipid composition of the membrane and an interaction with cholesterol. To account for cholesterol exchange between…
Phase separation and transitions among different molecular states are ubiquitous in living cells. Such transitions can be governed by local equilibrium thermodynamics or by active processes controlled by biological fuel. It remains largely…
We advanced a previously reported model for the \textit{in situ} scattering data analysis of coexisting lipid domains in free-floating multilamellar vesicles. Based on the scattering density profile of the individual domains we considered…
This article summarizes a variety of physical mechanisms proposed in the literature, which can generate micro- and nanodomains in multicomponent lipid bilayers and biomembranes. It mainly focusses on lipid-driven mechanisms that do not…
The hydration layer surrounding the phosphocholine headgroups of single-component phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids, or of lipid-mixtures, assembled at an interface greatly modifies the interfacial properties and interactions. As water…
Morphological transitions of phase separation associated with the asymmetry of lipid composition were investigated using micrometer-sized vesicles of lipid bilayers made from a lipid mixture. The complete macro-phase-separated morphology…
Lipid rafts are heterogeneous dynamic lipid domains of the cell membranes that are involved in several biological processes, like protein and lipids specific transport and signaling. Our understanding of lipid raft formation is still…
We develop a lattice-based Monte Carlo simulation method for charged mixtures capable of treating dielectric heterogeneities. Using this method, we study oil-water mixtures containing an antagonistic salt, with hydrophilic cations and…
Cell membranes phase separate into ordered ${\rm L_o}$ and disordered ${\rm L_d}$ domains depending on their compositions. This membrane compartmentalization is heterogeneous and regulates the localization of specific proteins related to…