Abstract
Multiple experiments suggest that at certain mol fractions (χsterol = Cr) sterol molecules, cholesterol (chol) and ergosterol (erg), form superlattice (SL) structures occupying particular acyl chain sites in a lipid bilayer. We have constructed a theoretical model, which we have tested successfully against our own nystatin-erg channel data and the fluorescence measurements of sterol concentration [1]. Our Monte Carlo (MC) simulations show that mosaics of SLs, with structures strongly dependent on χsterol , form in bilayers for all χsterol studied. Here we successfully test the model against the chemical potential data using Kirkwood's coupling parameter method. Holding all interaction energies (sterol/sterol, sterol/lipid) constant the model successfully predicts simultaneously the observed increase in chemical potential [2] and no marked increase in sterol concentration at χsterol = 0.4 [1].1. Chong, P.L-G., and M. Olsher. 2004. Fluorescence Studies of the Existence and Functional Importance of Regular Distributions in Liposomal Membranes. Soft Mat. 2:85-108.2. Ali, M.R., K.H. Cheng, and J. Huang. 2007. Assess the nature of cholesterol-lipid interactions through the chemical potential of cholesterol in phosphatidylcholine bilayers. PNAS 104:5372-5377.
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