Collaborative Research: Electro-Mechanical Interactions in Biological Membranes

脂质膜形成包裹生物细胞内部的包膜。这些膜表现出独特的机械和电学特性，以这样一种方式相互作用，以促进广泛的生物过程。构成这些膜的脂质分子的结构赋予了不同寻常的机械行为，类似于液晶，一种介于传统固体和液体之间的物质形态。质膜的另一个基本特征是脂质分子的内层带负电荷。这些带电荷的脂质在物理力的作用下在膜表面扩散。反过来，带电荷的脂质在调节膜嵌入蛋白结构的功能方面起着重要作用。本项目的目标是制定和使用数学和计算模型来研究脂质-蛋白质系统的机电相互作用。从该项目中获得的见解将有助于提高对发生在细胞水平上的物理过程的理解。这反过来又有望加强对脂质相关疾病的机制和药物治疗效果的理解。因此，该项目将促进基础科学的进步，并推进医疗保健这一关键领域的国家优先事项。该项目结合了物理学、结构工程和细胞生物学各个分支的专业知识。它将为多样化的学生群体提供高级培训，从而通过培养新一代跨学科的科学家和工程师来提高美国的全球竞争力。该项目将提供数学框架来描述生物膜中带电脂质和蛋白质的基本相互作用。它最终将成为一个预测工具，用于模拟负责许多细胞功能的微观机电相互作用。它的新特点包括使用连续统理论和分子动力学建模在脂质-蛋白质界面的膜变形之间的耦合相互作用，带电脂质和蛋白质的扩散，以及电场对组合系统行为的作用的量化。衍生的框架还将帮助力学和材料科学界的研究人员对复杂的二维界面进行建模。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Lipid membranes form the envelope surrounding the interior of biological cells. These membranes exhibitunique mechanical and electrical properties that interact in such a way as to facilitate a wide range ofbiological processes. The structure of the lipid molecules that constitute these membranes imparts unusualmechanical behavior resembling that of liquid crystals, a phase of matter intermediate between conventionalsolids and liquids. Another basic feature of plasma membranes is a negatively charged inner layer of lipidmolecules. These charged lipids diffuse on the membrane surface in response to physical forces. In turn,charged lipids play a significant role in regulating the functionality of membrane-embedded proteinstructures. The objective of this project is to formulate and employ mathematical and computational modelsto investigate electro-mechanical interactions of lipid-protein systems. Insights gained from the project willlead to improved understanding of physical processes occurring at the cellular level. This in turn is expectedto enhance understanding of the mechanisms underlying lipid-associated diseases and the efficacy of drugtherapies. Thus, the project will promote the progress of fundamental science and advance nationalpriorities in the critical area of healthcare. The project combines expertise in various branches of physics,structural engineering and cellular biology. It will provide advanced training to a diverse group of studentsand thereby enhance U.S. global competitiveness by contributing to the establishment of a new generationof interdisciplinary scientists and engineers.This project will provide the mathematical framework to describe the fundamental interactions of chargedlipids and proteins in biological membranes. It will culminate in a predictive tool for the simulation of themicroscopic electromechanical interactions responsible for a host of cellular functions. Its novel featuresinclude the use of continuum theory and molecular dynamics modeling of the coupled interplay betweenmembrane deformation at the lipid-protein interfaces, diffusion of charged lipids and proteins, and thequantification of the role of electric fields on the behavior of the combined system. The derived frameworkwould also assist researchers in the mechanics and material science communities to model complex 2Dinterfaces.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.