title: Dynamics of a lipid bilayer induced by electric fields.
abstract: The dynamics of a lipid bilayer of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-glycero-3-phospho-ethanolamine, POPE, is investigated under the effect of two electric field intensities. The box of 720 lipids and 13,458 water molecules-plus boundary conditions-undergoes similar re-organizational dynamics in the presence of fields of 0.35 V nm(-1) and 0.5 V nm(-1). Water fingers form followed by some lipid translocation from one layer to the other. The re-organization kinetics is of the second order and is roughly 5 times faster at the higher field. The translocations may occur also upon field switch off, provided that their duration was sufficiently long. Driving few lipid translocations by a macroscopic tool, such as the electric field, appears possible.
authors.affiliation: Institute for the Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity, National Research Council of Italy, via Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy. A.Venturini@isof.cnr.it
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Venturini
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zerbetto
mesh_terms: D004560:Electricity; D007700:Kinetics; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010714:Phosphatidylethanolamines; D014867:Water; C057561:1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylethanolamine