Cooperative wrapping of nanoparticles by membrane tubes

TL;DR

This study analyzes the energy dynamics of cooperative nanoparticle wrapping by membrane tubes, revealing conditions under which such wrapping is energetically favorable, which is crucial for understanding nanoparticle internalization in biological systems.

Contribution

It systematically investigates the energy gain in cooperative wrapping of nanoparticles by membrane tubes, considering shape minimization and particle-membrane interactions, a novel approach in this context.

Findings

Cooperative wrapping energy gain depends on particle size and adhesion potential.

Wrapping is favorable for particles with radii of tens of nanometers and intermediate adhesion energies.

Large particles are less favorably wrapped cooperatively in membrane tubes.

Abstract

The bioactivity of nanoparticles crucially depends on their ability to cross biomembranes. Recent simulations indicate the cooperative wrapping and internalization of spherical nanoparticles in tubular membrane structures. In this article, we systematically investigate the energy gain of this cooperative wrapping by minimizing the energies of the rotationally symmetric shapes of the membrane tubes and of membrane segments wrapping single particles. We find that the energy gain for the cooperative wrapping of nanoparticles in membrane tubes relative to their individual wrapping as single particles strongly depends on the ratio of the particle radius and the range of the particle-membrane adhesion potential. For a potential range of the order of one nanometer, the cooperative wrapping in tubes is highly favorable for particles with a radius of tens of nanometers and intermediate adhesion energies, but not for particles that are significantly larger.