Structural and kinetic molecular dynamics study of electroporation in cholesterol-containing bilayers

We present a numerical study of pore formation in lipid bilayers containing cholesterol (Chol) and subjected to a transverse electric field. Molecular dynamics simulations of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) membranes reveal the formation of a pore when an electric field of 325 mV/nm is applied. The minimum electric field needed for membrane permeabilization strongly increases with the addition of cholesterol above 10 mol %, reaching 750 mV/nm for 40 mol % Chol. Analysis of simulations of DOPC/Chol bilayers suggests this is caused by a substantial increment of membrane cohesion. Simulations also show that pore formation kinetics is much slower at high Chol contents.