title: Self-organization of a stable pore structure in a phospholipid bilayer.
abstract: We demonstrate the self-organization process of a stable pore structure in a phospholipid bilayer by unsteady and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. The simulation is started from an initial state including some amount of water molecules in its hydrophobic region, which is a model of a cell membrane stimulated by ultrasound radiation for the membrane permeabilization (sonoporation). We show that, in several nanoseconds, the bilayer-water system can spontaneously develop into a water-filled pore structure without any mechanical and electrical forcing from outside, when the initial number of water molecules in the hydrophobic region exceeds a critical value. The increase in the initial number of water molecules enhances the probability of pore formation, and sometimes induces the formation of transient micellelike structures of phospholipid molecules.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka 560-8531, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koshiyama
authors.forename: Takeru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kodama
mesh_terms: D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010743:Phospholipids; D014867:Water