Abstract
We have investigated the mechanical properties of membranes using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and atomic force microscopy. Mechanical properties were obtained from MD simulations using recently developed approaches that rely on the analysis of bilayer undulations. Comparable values were obtained from AFM by directly measuring bilayer stiffness. We began our study by examining the mechanics of DPPC, DMPC, and 1:1 DMPC:cholesterol liposomes. We then studied increasingly complex lipid mixtures in an attempt to understand the mechanics of synaptic vesicles. Our previously published MD results revealed that addition of α-Synuclein to single lipid component, fluid-phase SUVs decreases their rigidity. We are working to verify this finding using AFM and to test whether α-Synuclein has a similar effect on SUVs that more closely model the complexity of synaptic vesicles.
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