Computer simulations of lipid membrane domains

Abstract

There is great diversity in the composition and structure of biological lipid membranes. We are beginning to appreciate the crucial role of lipids in many cellular processes, and characterize some of the lateral structures within membranes that could play a role in the activity of lipids. Simulations probe molecular level interactions between single molecules, which provide complementary information to experiments. Lipid membrane simulations have reached an exciting point, where the time and length scales of our simulations are approaching experimental resolutions and can be used to interpret experiments on increasingly complex model membranes. The focus of this review is on recent molecular simulations of domain formation in lipid bilayers. We highlight a number of recent examples where simulations are used in collaboration with experiments. We review recent simulation studies on lipid-lipid interactions related to domain formation and on lipid-protein interactions relevant for lipid raft function.