Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: A highly coarse-grained model for the lipid monolayer is formulated by considering a two-dimensional system of spherical particles with distinct types of S, U, and C, corresponding to the saturated, unsaturated, and cholesterol molecules. Their interactions are defined as modified Lennard-Jones type with distinct interaction strengths. The phase behavior of the system is studied for various cholesterol compositions, $x$ ranging from 0.1 to 0.6. From the simulation results, we observe that the S- and C-type particles segregate together to form ordered microdomains, with U-type particles at their outer leaflet; consistent with observations in literature. An order parameter $Φ$ is defined to quantify the extent of phase separation among the constituents. The time averaged value of $Φ$ is found increasing with the $x$ value. Radial distribution function calculations indicate the structural ordering within the phase separated domains.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Chari, S. Siva Nasarayya
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7222082003