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Electroelastic coupling between membrane surface fluctuations and membrane-embedded charges: continuum
Gennady V Miloshevsky1, Ahmed Hassanein, Michael B Partenskii
1School of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA. gennady@purdue.edu
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|June 25, 2010
Summary
Charges interacting with membrane fluctuations influence membrane properties. A new model shows electrohydrophobic solvation is often more favorable than electroelastic deformation for these interactions.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Computational Chemistry
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Membrane electroporation, ionic conductance, and voltage gating are influenced by electric fields and charges interacting with membrane fluctuations.
- Understanding these interactions is crucial for various biological processes and drug delivery mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a modified continuum model for studying charge-membrane-water interfacial fluctuations in multidielectric environments.
- To analyze two mechanisms: electroelastic deformation (EED) and electrohydrophobic solvation (EHS).
- To investigate the energetic favorability of switching between EED and EHS.
Main Methods:
- Solving the linear Poisson-Boltzmann equation for a point charge within a low dielectric sphere.
- Utilizing a reaction field potential method to handle charges at dielectric boundaries.
- Employing kinetic Monte Carlo simulations with adjustable shapes to model perturbation mechanisms.
Main Results:
- The model effectively treats charges at dielectric boundaries and calculates reaction field potentials.
- Electroelastic deformation (EED) can cause unrealistically large membrane thickness changes.
- Electrohydrophobic solvation (EHS) becomes energetically advantageous over EED at intermediate perturbation amplitudes.
- Simulated energy profiles align with atomistic molecular dynamics studies of charged residue translocation across lipid bilayers.
Conclusions:
- The developed continuum model provides a robust framework for analyzing charge-membrane interactions.
- Electrohydrophobic solvation (EHS) offers a more energetically favorable mechanism than electroelastic deformation (EED) under specific conditions.
- The findings are consistent with advanced molecular dynamics simulations, validating the model's predictive power.
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