Large-scale simulations of fluctuating biological membranes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a coarse-grained simulation model for biological membranes that captures their elasticity and fluidity at micron scales, enabling realistic membrane behavior analysis.

Contribution

A novel, simple coarse-grained model of lipid bilayers that accurately reproduces membrane elasticity and fluidity without crystalline order.

Findings

Model reproduces natural membrane properties

Simulates membrane response to nanorod interaction

Demonstrates versatility and realism of the approach

Abstract

We present a simple, and physically motivated, coarse-grained model of a lipid bilayer, suited for micron scale computer simulations. Each ~25 nm^2 patch of bilayer is represented by a spherical particle. Mimicking forces of hydrophobic association, multi-particle interactions suppress the exposure of each sphere's equator to its implicit solvent surroundings. The requirement of high equatorial density stabilizes two-dimensional structures without necessitating crystalline order, allowing us to match both the elasticity and fluidity of natural lipid membranes. We illustrate the model's versatility and realism by characterizing membrane response to a prodding nanorod.