Dissipative particle dynamic simulation study of lipid membrane

Abstract

The lipid membrane plays crucial roles in countless biologic processes, ranging from cell motility, endo- and exocytosis, and cell division to protein aggregation and trafficking. To gain a molecular insight in these biologic processes, the recently developed mesoscale simulation technique, dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation, has become an invaluable tool. By providing a brief survey of existing atomistic and popular coarse-grained models used today in studying the dynamics (including vesicle formation and (protein-mediated) vesicle fusion) and phase behavior of lipid bilayers, this review illustrates how mesoscopic DPD models can be used to obtain a better understanding of these biologic processes currently inaccessible to atomistic and most coarse-grained models.

Keywords

dissipative particle dynamics / lipid membrane / vesicle fusion / 2D phase transformation