Thermal undulations of lipid bilayers relax by intermonolayer friction at submicrometer length scales.
The time correlation functions of the thermal undulations of a lipid membrane have been studied by molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained bilayer model. We observe a double-exponential decay, with relaxation rates in good agreement with the theory by Seifert and Langer, [Europhys. Lett. 23, 71 (1993)]. Intermonolayer friction resulting from local velocity differences between the two monolayers is shown to be the dominant dissipative mechanism for fluctuations with wave lengths below approximately -0.1 microm.
Shkulipa
S A
SA
Computational Biophysics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
den Otter
W K
WK
Briels
W J
WJ
D017276:Friction; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008433:Mathematics; D008560:Membrane Fluidity; D012212:Rheology; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors
D008051:Lipid Bilayers