The effect of hydronium ions on the structure of phospholipid membranes

• DOI: 10.1039/c7cp06776c
• Publication Date: 2017-11-27T15:33:40Z
• Authors: Evelyne Deplazes; David Poger; Bruce Cornell; Charles G. Cranfield
• Keywords: POPC; Hydronium; Microsecond

This work seeks to identify the mechanisms by which hydronium ions (H3O+) modulate structure of phospholipid bilayers studying interactions H3O+ with phospholipids at molecular level. For this, we carried out multiple microsecond-long unrestrained dynamics (MD) simulations a POPC bilayer different concentrations. The results show that accumulates membrane surface where it displaces water and forms strong long-lived hydrogen bonds phosphate carbonyl oxygens in phospholipids. concentration-dependent reduction area per lipid an increase thickness. study provides important molecular-level insight into mechanism how modulates biological membranes is critical step towards better understanding effect low pH on mammalian bacterial membranes.