1. Functionalization Pattern of Graphene Oxide Sheets Controls Entry or Produces Lipid Turmoil in Phospholipid Membranes
- Author
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Andrea Bottoni, Marco Dallavalle, Matteo Calvaresi, Francesco Zerbetto, and Marco Dallavalle, Andrea Bottoni, Matteo Calvaresi, Francesco Zerbetto
- Subjects
Materials science ,Phospholipid ,Oxide ,02 engineering and technology ,Molecular Dynamics Simulation ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,law.invention ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Molecular dynamics ,law ,General Materials Science ,membrane ,Phospholipids ,phospholipid ,Double layer (biology) ,Graphene ,molecular dynamic ,coarse grain modeling ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,0104 chemical sciences ,Hydrophilic Interactions ,Membrane ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,nanotoxicity ,graphene oxide ,Surface modification ,Graphite ,lipids (amino acids, peptides, and proteins) ,Materials Science (all) ,0210 nano-technology ,Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions - Abstract
Molecular dynamics, coarse-grained to the level of hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions, shows that graphene oxide sheets, GOSs, can pierce through the phospholipid membrane and navigate the double layer only if the hydrophilic groups are randomly dispersed in the structure. Their behavior resembles that found in similar calculations for pristine graphene sheets. If the oxidation is located at the edge of the sheets, GOSs hover over the membrane and trigger a major reorganization of the lipids. The reorganization is the largest when the radius of the edge-functionalized sheet is similar to the length of the lipophilic chain of the lipids. In the reorganization, the heads of the lipid chains form dynamical structures that pictorially resemble the swirl of water flowing down a drain. All effects maximize the interaction between hydrophobic moieties on the one hand and lipophilic fragments on the other and are accompanied by a large number of lipid flip-flops. Possible biological consequences are discussed. more...
- Published
- 2018
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