Monte Carlo simulations of lateral membrane organization

Abstract

This chapter discusses the Monte Carlo simulations of lateral membrane organization. The chapter also gives a tutorial introduction to computer simulations on lipid membranes. The biological membrane is a many-particle system, consisting primarily of lipids and proteins. In a typical prokaryotic cell or in a giant lipid vesicle, the number of molecules is roughly on the order of 10 11 . Although the lipid bilayer is the core of the biological membrane, its role has traditionally been regarded as being that of a fairly passive two dimensional solvent for the membrane proteins. Models used in computer simulations are often extremely simple and a major criticism to statistical mechanical models is that they are too simple. However, to make progress in the understanding of how the membrane assembly works generically, it is necessary to know the physical properties and fundamental laws that are governing the behavior. Furthermore, computer simulations may provide guidelines for experiments on specific systems.