The comes and goes of lipid membranes under the lens of computer simulations

Resumen:
Inglés

When phospholipids dissolve in water they self-assemble into a variety of structures of which bilayers have the greatest biological relevance. Bio-membranes are the most complex examples of lipid bilayers as they have evolved to accommodate the needs of specialized cells, organelles, and other sub-cellular structures. However, even the simplest lipid bilayer offers a repertoire of behaviours that is amenable of exploration with different levels of resolution in space and time. For example, while certain properties of the membranes are well described considering the membrane as an elastic sheet, others demand a more detailed description that takes into account the atomic nature of the lipids and the forces that keep the bilayer together. Between these two extreme representations of the membrane, one fairly schematic the other very elaborate, there is a range of “coarse-grain" models that can be interrogated with the aid of computer simulations.

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Disciplinas:
Ciencias médicas - Bioquímica y Biofísica

Descriptores:
METABOLISMO DE LOS LÍPIDOS - MEMBRANA CELULAR

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