Abstract
The authors develop a minimal multiscale lattice model of the binary mixture of saturated lipid and cholesterol that reveals a new thermodynamic mechanism behind the appearance of heterogeneous liquid ordered domains in the mixture.
Highlights
The plasma cell membrane is characterized by a lateral heterogeneous distribution of its biomolecular components [1]
The phase diagram is shown in the upper left-hand corner of Fig. 1, where the magenta dots indicate the locations in phase space of the simulated systems, and the blue dots the locations of systems from which Figs. 1(a)–1(g) are taken
The formation of Lo domains has been associated with three general mechanisms [27]: (i) curvature-composition coupling, (ii) microemulsion stabilization by lineactant hybrid lipids, and (iii) near-critical fluctuations
Summary
The plasma cell membrane is characterized by a lateral heterogeneous distribution of its biomolecular components [1] It contains small (10–200 nm) domains, termed lipid rafts, enriched in saturated lipids (mainly sphingolipids), cholesterol (Chol), and often particular proteins [2,3]. The simulations reveal the existence of Cholfree hexagonally packed small clusters of acyl chains within liquid-ordered domains that are rich in Chol, especially along the domain boundaries These new findings revoke a renewed discussion on the phase behavior of DPPC/Chol mixtures. A unique feature of the model presented is the presence of empty sites that represent small area voids This facilitates investigations of the diffusive dynamics of the lipids in the different phases. The minimal nature of the model and its ability to provide multiscale information on both structural and dynamic properties of the system helps us to unravel the main thermodynamic and molecular forces underlying the
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