Cryo-SIM: Generation of synthetic cryo-EM images of liposomes from lipid bilayer simulations
Year: 2026
Type: software
Abstract: Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has recently emerged as a powerful single-particle approach for characterizing the structure and organization of lipid bilayers at nanometer resolution. In parallel, the ongoing refinement of force fields for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of lipid bilayers have enabled accurate descriptions of lipid packing, thickness, and electrostatic structure in biologically relevant membrane compositions. Here we present a computational framework that links these two methodologies by generating realistic synthetic cryo-EM projection images directly from MD simulations of flat bilayer patches through a forward modeling approach. By enabling controlled, ground-truth comparisons between simulated and experimental images, the cryo-SIM software and underlying workflow provide a robust route for validating analysis tools, probing the limits of resolution for bilayer features, and refining our understanding of membrane organization at the single-vesicle level.
Source: SciLifeLab Data Repository
Institution: Science for Life Laboratory
Subfield: Structural Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7124297494
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