Sheng Sun, Joseph T. Y. Wong, Tong-Yi Zhang
The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.17, No.2, pp. 45-46, 2011, DOI:10.3970/icces.2011.017.045
Abstract Lipids in water form different structures (or phases) via self-assembly depending on hydration level of lipid. As the hydration level of lipid increases, the self-assembled structures are micelles, cylinder phase, lamellar phase, and inverted cylinder phase. Lamellar phase or bilayer is the most common structure in cells. Experiments reveal that external electric fields can induce cell membrane poration and fusion, and the technique is widely used to transfer external molecules, such as DNA and drugs, into cells.
By using molecular dynamics simulations, we studied the behaviors of pure phospholipid membrane bilayer in an external electric field, which was applied… More >