Two-dimensional convex-molecule fluid model for surface adsorption of proteins: effect of soft interaction on...

Adsorption of proteins on membrane surfaces plays an important role in cell biological processes. In this work, we develop a two-dimensional fluid model for proteins. The protein molecules have been modeled as two-dimensional convex and soft particles. The Lennard-Jones potential for circular particles and Kihara (12,6) potential for elliptical particles with hard core have been used to model pairwise intermolecular interactions. The equation of state of the fluid model has been derived using Weeks-Chandler-Andersen decomposition and it involves three parameters, an attraction, a repulsion, and a size parameter, which depend on the shape and core size of the molecules. For validation of the model, a two-dimensional molecular dynamics simulation has been performed. Finally, the model has been applied to study the adsorption of proteins on a flat membrane. In comparison with the existing model of hard and convex particles for protein adsorption, our model predicts a higher packing fraction for the adsorption equilibria. Although the present work is based on Lennard-Jones-type interaction, it can be extended for other specific soft interactions between convex molecules. Thus the model has general applicability for any other two-dimensional adsorption systems of molecules with soft interaction.