Abstract
Due to the semi-liquid nature and uneven morphologies of biological membranes, indentation may occur in a range of non-ideal conditions. These conditions are relatively unstudied and may alter the physical characteristics of the process. One of the basic challenges in the construction of nanoindenters is to appropriately align the nanotube tip and approach the membrane at a perpendicular angle. To investigate the impact of deviations from this ideal, we performed non-equilibrium steered molecular dynamics simulations of the indentation of phospholipid membranes by homogeneous CNT and non-homogeneous SiCNT indenters. We used various angles, rates, and modes of indentation, and the withdrawal of the relative indenter out of the membrane in corresponding conditions was simulated.
Highlights
While commercial adoption of carbon nanotubes (CNT) has stumbled over problems of cost and scale, its use in the sciences has flourished
We performed SMD simulations of membrane indentation by nanotubes inclined at different angles, speeds, and directions
If we consider the removal of lipids from the membrane to be the ultimate hallmark of permanent damage, higher indentation and withdrawal rates with motion closely aligned to the nanotube axis should be preferred
Summary
While commercial adoption of carbon nanotubes (CNT) has stumbled over problems of cost and scale, its use in the sciences has flourished. CNTs and other carbon-based nanostructures have found meaningful applications that take advantage of nearly every individual and bulk property they possess—as conductors, as semiconductors, and as thermal transport due to their physical rigidity, flexibility, and chemistry [2]. In the field of tissue engineering, for example, CNTs’ similarity in scale to extracellular proteins opens the door for influencing cell growth and organization or enhancing the physical properties of agarose media [7]. This potential was demonstrated in [8], where polyethylene glycol single-walled carbon nanotubes (PEGSWCNTs) combined with gene inhibitors were able to safely enter and influence chondrocytes after direct injection into the synovial cavity of mice
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