A Second Generation Mesoscopic Lipid Bilayer Model: Connections to Field-Theory Descriptions of Membranes and Nonlocal Hydrodynamics

TitleA Second Generation Mesoscopic Lipid Bilayer Model: Connections to Field-Theory Descriptions of Membranes and Nonlocal Hydrodynamics
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2006
AuthorsAyton, GS, McWhirter, JL, Voth, GA
JournalJ Chem Phys
Volume124
Pagination64906
Keywords*Algorithms Computer Simulation Diffusion Entropy Lipid Bilayers/*chemistry *Membrane Fluidity Models, Biological Solvents/chemistry Surface Properties
Abstract

A new mesoscopic membrane model is developed in order to examine long-wavelength structural and dynamical membrane phenomena. Two different explicit mesoscopic solvent models are employed. The first mesoscopic solvent is denoted the big liquid oscillating blob system, which is parametrized to model water at a coarse-grained level and is motivated by a Langevin-like approach; the resulting membrane dynamics predict a solvent viscosity dependence consistent with the known viscosity of water. The second mesoscopic solvent is a Weeks-Chandler-Anderson model. Here, it is found that the correct mesoscopic hydrodynamic scaling of the membrane undulation dynamics is still preserved, although accelerated. When the behavior of the two membranes in close proximity to one another is examined, very little correlated motion is observed. However, the theoretically predicted scaling of the entropic undulation energy is confirmed, demonstrating that the entropic interaction between two membranes becomes increasingly repulsive with decreasing separation.

DOI10.1063/1.2165194