Destructive Extraction and Enhanced Diffusion of Phospholipids on Lipid Membranes by Phosphorene Oxide Nanosheets

Phosphorene is a novel two-dimensional nanomaterial with a puckered surface morphology, which has broad potential application prospects in the fields of biology and medicine. Phosphorene nanosheets are easily oxidized and form phosphorene oxide (PO) in an aerobic environment, whose biological effect remains unknown. In this paper, using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the PO nanosheets can penetrate into and destructively extract large amounts of phospholipids from the lipid membrane. The PO nanosheets with a higher oxidation concentration have less extraction of phospholipids, while its oxidation mode has no effect on the extraction of phospholipids. Moreover, inserting PO nanosheets into the lipid membrane can enhance the diffusion of phospholipids on the membrane. These findings can shed light on understanding/designing the membrane-nanomaterial interactions.