Possible mechanism of adhesion in a mica supported phospholipid bilayer.

Phospholipid bilayers supported on hydrophilic solids like silica and mica play a substantial role in fundamental studies and technological applications of phospholipid membranes. In both cases the molecular mechanism of adhesion between the bilayer and the support is of primary interest. Since the possibilities of experimental methods in this specific area are rather limited, the methods of computer simulation acquire great importance. In this paper we use the grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and an atomistic force field to simulate the behavior of a mica supported phospholipid bilayer in pure water as a function of the distance between the bilayer and the support. The simulation reveals a possible adhesion mechanism, where the adhesion is due to individual lipid molecules that protrude from the bilayer and form widely spaced links with the support. Simultaneously, the bilayer remains separated from the bilayer by a thin water interlayer which maintains the bilayer fluidity.

Computer simulation of adhesion between hydrophilic and hydrophobic self-assembled monolayers in water.

The grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and atomistic force fields are used to calculate the force-distance relations and free energies of adhesion between carboxyl and methyl terminated alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in water. Both symmetric and asymmetric confinements are considered, as formed by like and unlike SAMs, respectively. As the confinement is increased, water confined by the hydrophobic methyl terminated SAMs experiences capillary evaporation. As a consequence, the adhesion energy is determined by the direct interaction between bare SAMs. In the asymmetric system, an incomplete capillary evaporation is observed, with the number of water molecules dropped by more than an order of magnitude. The remaining water molecules are all adsorbed on the hydrophilic SAM, while the hydrophobic SAM is separated from the rest of the system by a thin vapor layer. The calculated free energies of adhesion are in acceptable agreement with experiment.

Computer simulation of water-mediated adhesion between phospholipid bilayer and solid support functionalized with self-assembled monolayers.

An attempt is made to estimate, via computer simulation of the force-distance relation, the free energy of adhesion between a phosphatidylethanolamine bilayer and an alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayer (SAM) in aqueous medium. The simulations are performed using the grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and atomistic force fields. The bilayer adhesion free energy is predicted to be -22 ± 3 mJ/m(2) (-1.4 ± 0.2 kcal/mol) on a hydrophilic carboxyl-terminated SAM and -1 ± 1 mJ/m(2) (-0.06 ± 0.06 kcal/mol) on a hydrophobic methyl-terminated SAM.

Quasistatic computer simulations of shear behavior of water nanoconfined between mica surfaces.

We combine the grand canonical Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics techniques to simulate the shear response of water under a 9.2 Å confinement between two parallel sheets of muscovite mica. The shear deformation is modeled in the quasistatic regime corresponding to an infinitely small shear rate. It is found that the confined water film is capable of sustaining shear stress, as is characteristic of solids, while remaining fluid-like in respect of molecular mobility and lateral order. An important information is obtained by splitting the stress tensor components into contributions arising from the interaction of the opposing mica sheets between themselves and their interaction with water. The mica-mica contributions to shear stress show a strong anisotropy dictated by the alignment of the surface K(+) ions in chains along the x axis. On shearing in this direction, the mica-mica contribution to shear stress is negligible, so that the shear resistance is determined by the water interlayer. By contrast, in the y direction, the mica-mica contribution to shear resistance is dominant. The water-mica contribution is slightly less in magnitude but opposite in sign. As a consequence, the mica-mica contribution is largely canceled out. The physics behind this cancellation is the screening of the electrostatic interactions of the opposing surface K(+) ions by water molecules.

Computer simulation of water-mediated forces between gel-phase phospholipid bilayers.

Water-mediated forces between gel-phase phospholipid bilayers were calculated as a function of interbilayer separation using the grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and all-atom CHARMM force field. The mechanism of the short-range interbilayer repulsion proved to be similar to that calculated previously for the fluid-phase bilayers despite substantial differences in structure and areal density between the gel and fluid phases.

Quasistatic computer simulation study of the shear behavior of Bi- and trilayer water films confined between model hydrophilic surfaces.

In this paper, our previous simulations of the shear behavior of confined water monolayers (Pertsin, A.; Grunze, M. Langmuir 2008, 24, 135) are extended to water films two and three monolayers thick. The shear response of the films is studied in the quasistatic regime corresponding to the infinitely low shear rate. In certain ranges of wall-to-wall separations, bilayer films are found to be capable of sustaining shear stress, as is characteristic of solids, while remaining fluidlike in respect of the lateral order and molecular mobility. The relation between the solidlike and fluidlike properties of the films is dependent on the relative alignment of the walls and on the period of the wall lattice. The films become more fluid when the walls are moved out of alignment and when the wall lattice is uniformly compressed or stretched with respect to the "optimum" lattice that favors crystal-like packing. Trilayer films do not sustain shear stress in the whole range of wall-to-wall separations where these films are formed.

A computer simulation study of stick-slip transitions in water films confined between model hydrophilic surfaces. 1. Monolayer films.

The shear behavior of monolayer water films confined in a slit-like pore between hydrophilic walls is simulated in the quasistatic regime using the grand canonical Monte Carlo technique. Each wall is represented as a hexagonal lattice of force sites that interact with water through an orientation-dependent hydrogen-bonding potential. When the walls are in registry, the water oxygen atoms form either a crystal- or fluid-like structure, depending on the period of the wall's lattice. In both cases, however, the monolayer structure is orientationally disordered. Both the crystal- and fluid-like monolayers prove to be capable of experiencing well-defined stick-slip transitions, with the largest yield stress occurring in the crystal-like case. Beyond the yield point, the crystal-like monolayers "melt", but their structure and molecular motion differ in many respects from those characteristic of normal fluids.

Origin of short-range repulsion between hydrated phospholipid bilayers: a computer simulation study.

The grand canonical Monte Carlo technique is used to simulate the pressure-distance dependence for supported dilauroylphosphatidylethanolamine (DLPE) membranes. The intra- and intermolecular interactions in the system are described with a combination of an AMBER-based force field for DLPE and a TIP4P model for water. To improve the balance between the pair interactions of like and unlike molecules, the water-lipid interaction potentials are scaled to reproduce the hydration level and intermembrane separation at full hydration. It is found that the short-range water-mediated repulsion originates from the hydration component of the intermembrane pressure, whereas the direct interaction between the membranes remains attractive throughout the pressure range studied (0-5 kbar).

Temperature dependence of the short-range repulsion between hydrated phospholipid membranes: A computer simulation study.

The temperature dependence of the short-range water-mediated repulsive pressure between supported phospholipid membranes is calculated at two intermembrane separations using the grand canonical Monte Carlo technique. At both separations, the simulated pressure tends to decrease with temperature, in qualitative agreement with the experimental measurements by Simon and co-workers [Simon et al., Biophys. J. 69, 1473 (1995)]. The decrease in pressure originates, at least in part, from a slight dehydration of the membranes and the associated reduction in the hydration component of the pressure.

Water as a lubricant for graphite: a computer simulation study.

The phase state and shear behavior of water confined between parallel graphite sheets are studied using the grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and TIP4P model for water. In describing the water-graphite interaction, two orientation-dependent potentials are tried. Both potentials are fitted to many-body polarizable model predictions for the binding energy and the equilibrium conformation of the water-graphite complex [K. Karapetian and K. D. Jordan in Water in Confining Geometries, edited by V. Buch and J. P. Devlin (Springer, Berlin, 2003), pp. 139-150]. Based on the simulation results, the property of water to serve as a lubricant between the rubbing surfaces of graphitic particles is associated, first, with the capillary condensation of water occurring in graphitic pores of monolayer width and, second, with the fact that the water monolayer compressed between graphite particles retains a liquidlike structure and offers only slight resistance to shear.

Computer simulation of short-range repulsion between supported phospholipid membranes.

The grand canonical Monte Carlo technique is used to calculate the water-mediated pressure between two supported 1,2-dilauroyl-DL-phosphatidylethanolamine (DLPE) membranes in the short separation range. The intra- and intermolecular interactions in the system are described with a combination of a united-atom AMBER-based force field for DLPE and a TIP4P model for water. The total pressure is analyzed in terms of its hydration component and the component due to the direct interaction between the membranes. The latter is, in addition, partitioned into the electrostatic, dispersion, and steric repulsion contributions to give an idea of their relative significance in the water-mediated intermembrane interaction. It is found that the force field used exaggerates the water affinity of the membranes, resulting in an overestimated hydration level and intermembrane pressure. The simulations of the hydrated membranes with damped water-lipid interaction potentials show that both the hydration and pressure are extremely sensitive to the strength of the water-lipid interactions. Moreover, the damping of the mixed interactions by only 10%-20% changes significantly the relative contribution of the individual pressure components to the intermembrane repulsion.

Direct computer simulation of water-mediated force between supported phospholipid membranes.

The grand canonical Monte Carlo technique is used to calculate the water-mediated force operating between two supported 1,2-dilauroyl-DL-phosphatidylethanolamine (DLPE) membranes in the short separation range. The intra- and intermolecular interactions in the system are described with a combination of an AMBER-based force field for DLPE and a TIP4P model for water. The long range contributions to the electrostatic interaction energy are treated in the dipole-dipole group-based approximation. The total water-mediated force is analyzed in terms of its hydration component and the component due to the direct interaction between the membranes. The latter is, in addition, partitioned into the electrostatic, van der Waals, and steric repulsion contributions to give an idea of their relative significance in the water-mediated interaction of the membranes.