Lipids thermodynamics

Krishnamurty S, Stefanov M, Mineva T, Begu S, Devoisselle J, Goursot A, Zhu R, Salahub D (2008) Lipid thermodynamics melting is molecular. Chemphyschem 9 2321... 

It follows from the second law of thermodynamics that the optimal free energy of a hydrocarbon-water mixture is a function of both maximal enthalpy (from hydrogen bonding) and minimum entropy (maximum degrees of freedom). Thus, nonpolar molecules tend to form droplets with minimal exposed surface area, reducing the number of water molecules affected. For the same reason, in the aqueous environment of the hving cell the hydrophobic portions of biopolymers tend to be buried inside the structure of the molecule, or within a lipid bilayer, minimizing contact with water. 

Liposomes — These are synthetic lipid vesicles consisting of one or more phospholipid bilayers they resemble cell membranes and can incorporate various active molecules. Liposomes are spherical, range in size from 0.1 to 500 pm, and are thermodynamically unstable. They are built from hydrated thin lipid films that become fluid and form spontaneously multilameUar vesicles (MLVs). Using soni-cation, freeze-thaw cycles, or mechanical energy (extrusion), MLVs are converted to small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) with diameters in the range of 15 to 50 nm. ... 

Monolayers of distearoylphosphatidylcholine spread on the water-1,2-dichloro-ethane interface were studied by Grandell et al. [52] in a novel type of Langmuir trough [53]. Isotherms of the lipid were measured at controlled potential difference across the interface. Electrocapillary curves derived from the isotherms agreed with those measured under the true thermodynamic equilibrium. Weak adsorption or a stable monolayer was found to be formed, when the potential of the aqueous phase was positive or negative respectively, with respect to the potential of the 1,2-dichloroethane phase [52]. This result... 

Lipophilicity is a molecular property expressing the relative affinity of solutes for an aqueous phase and an organic, water-immiscible solvent. As such, lipophilicity encodes most of the intermolecular forces that can take place between a solute and a solvent, and represents the affinity of a molecule for a lipophilic environment. This parameter is commonly measured by its distribution behavior in a biphasic system, described by the partition coefficient of the species X, P. Thermodynamically, is defined as a constant relating the activity of a solute in two immiscible phases at equilibrium [111,112]. By convention, P is given with the organic phase as numerator, so that a positive value for log P reflects a preference for the lipid phase ... 

Figure 3 A hydrophobic permeant must negotiate through a complex series of diffu-sional and thermodynamic barriers as it penetrates into a cell. The lipid and protein compositions and charge distribution of the inner and outer leaflets of the membrane lipid bilayer can play limiting roles, particularly at the tight junction. Depending upon the permeant s characteristics, it may remain within the plasma membrane or enter the cytoplasm, possibly in association with cytosolic proteins, and partition into cytoplasmic membranes.

If amphipathic molecules are mixed with water, three different types of lipid structure are possible the type of aggregate formed depends on the physicochemical conditions and the lipid species involved. The thermodynamic parameter involved is the hydrophobic interaction. 

The first periodic (in one direction only) minimal surface [12] discovered in 1776 was a helicoid The surface was swept out by the horizontal line rotating at the constant rate as it moves at a constant speed up a vertical axis. The next example (periodic in two directions) was discovered in 1830 by Herman Scherk. The first triply periodic minimal surface was discovered by Herman Schwarz in 1865. The P and D Schwarz surfaces are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The revival of interest in periodic surfaces was due to (a) the observation[13-16] that at suitable thermodynamic conditions, bilayers of lipids in water solutions form triply periodic surfaces and (b) the discovery of new triply periodic minimal... 

The strategy in a molecular dynamics simulation is conceptually fairly simple. The first step is to consider a set of molecules. Then it is necessary to choose initial positions of all atoms, such that they do not physically overlap, and that all bonds between the atoms have a reasonable length. Subsequently, it is necessary to specify the initial velocities of all the atoms. The velocities must preferably be consistent with the temperature in the system. Finally, and most importantly, it is necessary to define the force-field parameters. In effect the force field defines the potential energy of each atom. This value is a complicated sum of many contributions that can be computed when the distances of a given atom to all other atoms in the system are known. In the simulation, the spatial evolution as well as the velocity evolution of all molecules is found by solving the classical Newton equations of mechanics. The basic outcome of the simulation comprises the coordinates and velocities of all atoms as a function of the time. Thus, structural information, such as lipid conformations or membrane thickness, is readily available. Thermodynamic information is more expensive to obtain, but in principle this can be extracted from a long simulation trajectory. 

The previous result is an important one. It indicates that there can be yet another fruitful route to describe lipid bilayers. The idea is to consider the conformational properties of a probe molecule, and then replace all the other molecules by an external potential field (see Figure 11). This external potential may be called the mean-field or self-consistent potential, as it represents the mean behaviour of all molecules self-consistently. There are mean-field theories in many branches of science, for example (quantum) physics, physical chemistry, etc. Very often mean-field theories simplify the system to such an extent that structural as well as thermodynamic properties can be found analytically. This means that there is no need to use a computer. However, the lipid membrane problem is so complicated that the help of the computer is still needed. The method has been refined over the years to a detailed and complex framework, whose results correspond closely with those of MD simulations. The computer time needed for these calculations is however an order of 105 times less (this estimate is certainly too small when SCF calculations are compared with massive MD simulations in which up to 1000 lipids are considered). Indeed, the calculations can be done on a desktop PC with typical... 

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