TY - EJOU AU - Gan, Yong AU - Chen, Zhen TI - Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Size Effect of Carbon Nanotubes on the Bulk Modulus of a Lipid Bilayer T2 - Molecular \& Cellular Biomechanics PY - 2006 VL - 3 IS - 3 SN - 1556-5300 AB - Due to their nanoscale size and special features, carbon nanotubes could enter the human body via certain way. The growing use of carbon nanotubes in practical applications, hence, prompts a necessity to study the potential health risks of carbon nanotubes. A numerical study is performed in this paper to investigate the size effect of carbon nanotubes on the bulk modulus of a lipid bilayer by using the constant surface tension molecular dynamics simulation procedure. It is found that the size effect is not monotonic with the increase of nanotube length. An explanation is given on the basis of the atomic interaction between the nanotube and bilayer involved in the model system. KW - DO - 10.3970/mcb.2006.003.089