Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM)-supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) that connect with functional proteins are popular models for cell membranes and are usually obtained via vesicle adsorption and spreading. However, the exact mechanism by which SLBs are formed is not fully understood. In this study, we employ coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the pathways by which vesicles undergo spreading upon the deposition on PEM-cushioned substrates. The substrates consist of positive chitosan (CHI)/negative alginate (ALG) multilayers. We find that an isolated vesicle tends to completely disintegrate upon deposition, forming a well-ordered lipid bilayer at appropriate polymer ionic strengths by a mechanism described as “parachute” model. Lipids from the vesicle’s outer leaflet are predominantly oriented toward the bulk after the formation of the SLB. The PEM cushion provides adsorption energy of 26.9 kJ mol–1 per lipid for the SLBs. The process by which SLBs are formed is almost independent of the number of layers of CHI/ALG in the PEM cushion. Additional simulations on vesicle clusters also demonstrate that the formation of SLBs can be catalyzed by either neighboring vesicles or preexisting bilayer edges on the support. Moreover, our simulations show that SLBs created on PEM supports preserve the lateral mobility and the symmetric density profile of the phospholipids, as in a freestanding bilayer.Topics: Biological membrane; Molecular dynamics simulation; Polyelectrolytes; Polyelectrolytes;

Lipid bilayer membranes supported on polyelectrolyte multilayers are widely used as a new biomembrane model that connects biological and artificial materials since these ultrathin polyelectrolyte supports may mimic the role of the extracellular matrix and cell skeleton in living systems. Polyelectrolyte multilayers were fabricated by a layer-by-layer self-assembly technique. A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation was used in real time to monitor the interaction between phospholipids and polyelectrolytes in situ on a planar substrate. The surface properties of polyelectrolyte films were investigated by the measurement of contact angles and zeta potential. Phospholipid charge, buffer pH and substrate hydrophilicity were proved to be essential for vesicle adsorption, rupture, fusion and formation of continuous lipid bilayers on the polyelectrolyte multilayers. The results clearly demonstrated that only the mixture of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidic acid (4 : 1) resulted in fluid bilayers on chitosan and alginate multilayers with chitosan as a top layer at pH 6.5. A coarse-grained molecular simulation study elucidated that the exact mechanism of the formation of fluid lipid bilayers resembles a “parachute” model. As the closest model to the real membrane, polyelectrolyte multilayer-cushioned fluid lipid bilayers can be appropriate candidates for application in biomedical fields.

Cross-linking of specific lipid components by proteins mediates transmembrane signaling and material transport. In this work, we conducted coarse-grained simulation to investigate the interactions of binding units of chorela toxin (CTB) with mixed ganglioside GM1 and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid bilayer membrane. We determine that the binding of CTB pentamers cross-links GM1 molecules into protein-sized nanodomains that have distinct lipid order compared with the bulk. The toxin in the nanodomain partially penetrates into the membrane. The local disordering can also transmit across the membrane via lipid coupling. Comparison simulations on CTB binding to a membrane that is composed of various lipid components demonstrate that several factors are responsible for the nanodomain formation: (a) the negatively charged headgroup of a GM1 receptor is responsible for the multivalent binding; (b) the head groups being full of hydrogen-bonding donors and receptors stabilize the GM1 cluster itself and ensure the toxin binding with high affinity; and (c) significant size and order differences between the protein receptor lipids and bulk lipids are essential to promoting phase separation and signal transportation.

Antimicrobial peptides with diverse cationic charges, amphiphathicities, and secondary structures possess a variety of antimicrobial activities against bacteria, fungi, and other generalized targets. To illustrate the relationship between the structures of these peptide and their actions at microscopic level, we present systematic coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics simulations of eight types of antimicrobial peptides with different secondary structures interacting with a lipid bilayer membrane. We find that the peptides use multiple mechanisms to exert their membrane-disruptive activities: A cationic charge is essential for the peptides to selectively target negatively charged bacterial membranes. This cationic charge is also responsible for promoting electroporation. A significant hydrophobic portion is necessary to disrupt the membrane through formation of a permeable pore or translocation. Alternatively, the secondary structure and the corresponding rigidity of the peptides determine the pore structure and the translocation pathway.

We present the theoretical investigation of the folding dynamics of a photocleaved tetrapeptide with a disulfide bridge by using combined semiempirical quantum-mechanical and molecular-mechanical molecular dynamics simulations and high-leveled CASPT2//CASSCF/Amber calculations. We find that in acetonitrile solvent, aside from the recombination of the sulfur biradicals, the peptide can refold to a double sulfur-heterocyclic ring structure or a fully opened structure. The radical bicyclization reaction and the intramolecular hydrogen transfer are responsible for the low recombination rate of the cysteinyl radicals, respectively. On the other hand, in methanol solvent, the formation of the solvent cages around the sulfur radicals reduces the possibility of the close contact of the radicals. The calculated infrared spectra of the amide I mode corresponding to the conformation changes of the peptide can well explain the experimental observation.

The dissipative particle dynamics simulations with explicit solvent and counterions are used to mimic the self-assembly of lamellar cationic lipid−DNA (CL−DNA)complexes. We found that the formation of the complexes is associated with the releasing of 70% DNA counterions and 90% lipid counterions. The trapped DNA and CL charges together with their counterions inside the complex still keep the interior neutral, which stabilized the structure. Simulations in constant pressure ensemble following the self-assembly show that the DNA interaxial spacing as a function of the inversed CL concentrations 1/ϕc is linear at low ϕc and nonlinear at high ϕc. The attraction between the DNA and the CLs as well as the repulsion between the DNA strands impose stretching stress on the membrane so that the averaged area per lipid is dependent on the CL concentration, which in turn determines the behavior of the DNA spacing.

Including electrostatic interactions into dissipative particle dynamics simulations, we can study the process of the translocation of cationic antimicrobial peptides across lipid bilayer membranes when their head groups are either negatively charged or neutral. Two translocation mechanisms are predicted. Bilayer thinning and tension increase caused by the binding of peptide to the zwitterionic lipid membrane surface is one mechanism. By this mechanism, peptide translocation only occurs when the peptide concentration exceeds a critical value and is a stochastic and rare event. The translocation completes via a two-state pathway: a perpendicular insertion state and a final parallel adsorption state. The penetration of the peptide into the bilayer also promotes the flip-flop of lipids. If some lipids of the bilayer are negatively charged, the electrostatic attraction between peptides and acidic phospholipids in the distal leaflet of the bilayer is another mechanism. In this case, the peptide translocation completes via a three-state pathway: initial parallel adsorption state, perpendicular insertion state, and a final parallel adsorption state. The critical peptide concentration is smaller and translocation is faster and more reliable than that of the first mechanism. In both mechanisms, an intermediate metastable peptide insertion state is composed of only one peptide and a few lipids.

Lipid bilayer membranes supported on polyelectrolyte multilayers are widely used as a new biomembrane model that connects biological and artificial materials since these ultrathin polyelectrolyte supports may mimic the role of the extracellular matrix and cell skeleton in living systems. Polyelectrolyte multilayers were fabricated by a layer-by-layer self-assembly technique. A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation was used in real time to monitor the interaction between phospholipids and polyelectrolytes in situ on a planar substrate. The surface properties of polyelectrolyte films were investigated by the measurement of contact angles and zeta potential. Phospholipid charge, buffer pH and substrate hydrophilicity were proved to be essential for vesicle adsorption, rupture, fusion and formation of continuous lipid bilayers on the polyelectrolyte multilayers. The results clearly demonstrated that only the mixture of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidic acid (4:1) resulted in fluid bilayers on chitosan and alginate multilayers with chitosan as a top layer at pH 6.5. A coarse-grained molecular simulation study elucidated that the exact mechanism of the formation of fluid lipid bilayers resembles a “parachute” model. As the closest model to the real membrane, polyelectrolyte multilayer-cushioned fluid lipid bilayers can be appropriate candidates for application in biomedical fields.