Cholesterol plays a key role in the molecular and mesoscopic organisation of lipid membranes and it is expected that changes in its molecular structure (e.g., through environmental factors such as oxidative stress) may affect adversely membrane properties and function. In this study, we present evidence that oxidation of cholesterol has …
On Friday 12 November, Paul Smith successfully defended his PhD thesis entitled “Understanding Lipid Membrane Biophysics Through Molecular Simulation.” Paul was examined by Andela Saric and Arianna Fornili, who have requested that he completes minor corrections to his thesis. Paul’s viva was able to be held in a face-to-face setting, …
In this work, we demonstrate to atomic precision the structural origins of protein corona formation due to adsorption, driven only by the choice of functional groups on a graphitic material. Using graphene-oxide (GO) and double-clickable azide- and alkyne-double functionalised graphene oxide (C2GO) sheets, we study the adsorption of apolipoprotein c-3 …
Over the past several decades, lipid membranes have been one of the primary targets of study with molecular scale simulations. Over this period of time, scientists have increasingly chosen to study more and more complex lipid membranes, while also wanting to measure increasingly complex structural and dynamical properties of the …
In our recent manuscript, we provide new fundamental insights into the microscopic structure of linear and four-arm block copolymers (members of the Pluronic and Tetronic families, respectively). The Pluronics and Tetronics typically self-assemble into small micelles in aqueous solution, which have found societally important applications in biomaterials and drug delivery. …
Phospholipids are a diverse group of biomolecules consisting of a hydrophilic headgroup and two hydrophobic acyl tails. The nature of the head and length and saturation of the acyl tails are important for defining the biophysical properties of lipid bilayers. It has recently been shown that the membranes of certain yeast …
In this work, we address the limitations in the performance of using generalised forcefields in molecular dynamics simulations for exotic materials such as graphene. We achievethis through ad hoc molecular dynamics forcefield parameterisation using density functional theory (DFT) calculations of a 1000 atom graphene-oxide (GO) system. The resulting forcefield parameters …
Biomimetic liquid crystalline systems are widely used in skin care cosmetics and topical pharmaceutical preparations. Multi-component lipid/surfactant formulations that contain natural phospholipids combined with long chain fatty acids and alcohols are widely employed in so-called ‘biomimetic’ skin care preparations. Such products – which include, for example, the PhysiogelTM and BiophilicTM …
Sphingomyelin and cholesterol are prominent lipids in the plasma membrane of animal cells. In this manuscript, we have combined X-ray scattering experiments, performed by our collarborator Prof. Peter Quinn (KCL, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science), and all-atom molecular dynamics to investigate the bilayer structures observed within an equimolar mixture of palmitoylsphingomyelin …
Lipid droplets are cytoplasmic organelles that store neutral lipids (e.g. triacylglycerols & sterol esters) that serve as reservoirs of energy. The neutral lipid core of lipid droplets are bounded by a phospholipid monolayer, which differentiates them from most other organelles that have a bilayer membrane. There are various nano-environments of …