Lateral Diffusion, Electrostatic Forces, and Protein-Mediated Bilayer Membrane Morphology

Abstract: Bilayer membrane deformation is involved in many biological processes and is determined by various intermolecular interactions as well as the dynamical lipid composition. A full integrated model that couples these interactions is highly desirable. Here we will present two recent studies concerning the variation of lipid composition of the membrane due to the lateral electro-diffusion and the modeling of electrostatic forces on membrane surfaces, both based on the variations of properly constructed electrochemical functionals. We will give the perspective of integration of these models for simulating the bilayer membrane morphology mediated by membrane proteins.