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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
Published on: September 1, 2023
3D pressure field in lipid membranes and membrane-protein complexes
O H Samuli Ollila1, H Jelger Risselada, Martti Louhivuori
1Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 692, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland.
Abstract:
We calculate full 3D pressure fields for inhomogeneous nanoscale systems using molecular dynamics simulation data. The fields represent systems with increasing level of complexity, ranging from semivesicles and vesicles to membranes characterized by coexistence of two phases, including also a protein-membrane complex. We show that the 3D pressure field is distinctly different for curved and planar bilayers, the pressure field depends strongly on the phase of the membrane, and that an integral protein modulates the tension and elastic properties of the membrane.
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