Alcohols reduce lateral membrane pressures: predictions from molecular theory
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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
Published on: September 1, 2023
Amalie L Frischknecht1, Laura J Douglas Frink
1Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA. alfrisc@sandia.gov
Abstract:
We explore the effects of alcohols on fluid lipid bilayers using a molecular theory with a coarse-grained model. We show that the trends predicted from the theory in the changes in area per lipid, alcohol concentration in the bilayer, and area compressibility modulus, as a function of alcohol chain length and of the alcohol concentration in the solvent far from the bilayer, follow those found experimentally. We then use the theory to study the effect of added alcohol on the lateral pressure profile across the membrane, and find that added alcohol reduces the surface tensions at both the headgroup/solvent and headgroup/tailgroup interfaces, as well as the lateral pressures in the headgroup and tailgroup regions. These changes in lateral pressures could affect the conformations of membrane proteins, providing a nonspecific mechanism for the biological effects of alcohols on cells.
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