Molecular Dynamics In Biological Membranes

Molecular Dynamics in Biological Membranes

Biomolecular Simulations

Over the past 40 years the field of molecular simulations has evolved from picosecond studies of isolated macromolecules in vacuum to studies of complex, chemically heterogeneous biological systems consisting of millions of atoms, with the simulation time scales spanning up to milliseconds. In Biomolecular Simulations: Methods and Protocols, expert researchers illustrate many of the methods commonly used in molecular modelling of biological systems, including methods for electronic structure calculations, classical molecular dynamics simulations and coarse-grained techniques. A selection of advanced techniques and recent methodological developments, which rarely find coverage in traditional textbooks, is also introduced. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include general introductions to well-established computational methodologies, applications to real-world biological systems, as well as practical tips and general protocols on carrying out biomolecular simulations. Special emphasis is placed on simulations of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and carbohydrates. Authoritative and practical, Biomolecular Simulations: Methods and Protocols seeks to aid scientists in further simulation studies of biological systems.

Biological Membranes

The interface between a living cell and the surrounding world plays a critical role in numerous complex biological processes. Sperm/egg fusion, virus/cell fusion, exocytosis, endocytosis, and ion permeation are a few examples of processes involving membranes. In recent years, powerful tools such as X-ray crystal lography, electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and infra-red and Raman spectroscopy have been developed to characterize the structure and dy namics of biomembranes. Despite this progress, many of the factors responsible for the function of biomembranes are still not well understood. The membrane is a very complicated supramolecular liquid-crystalline structure that is largely composed of lipids, forming a bilayer, to which proteins and other biomolecules are anchored. Often, the lipid bilayer environment is pictured as a hydropho bic structureless slab providing a thermodynamic driving force to partition the amino acids of a membrane protein according to their solubility. However, much of the molecular complexity of the phospholipid bilayer environment is ignored in such a simplified view. It is likely that the atomic details of the polar head group region and the transition from the bulk water to the hydrophobic core of the membrane are important. An understanding of the factors responsible for the function of biomembranes thus requires a better characterization at the molec ular level of how proteins interact with lipid molecules, of how lipids affect protein structure and of how lipid molecules might regulate protein function.