The effect of different force fields on the ion-membrane interactions

Abstract

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of lipid membranes have been widely used to better understand phenomena at the atomic and molecular level that cannot be observed with conventional experimental methods. This technique is very useful to understand the underlying mechanisms of the most common biological ions, such as K+, Na+, Cl- or Ca2+ when they interact with the lipid bilayer or when they go through the induced pores during electroporation. Lipid bilayer simulations showed that K+ and Cl- interact very little with the lipids, compared to Na+ and Ca2+.