MOLECULAR-DYNAMICS SIMULATION OF A HYDRATED PHOSPHOLIPID-BILAYER

A hydrated bilayer of the phospholipid 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-ph osphorylc (DMPC) has been studied in the course of a molecular dynamic s simulation. Comparison of the simulation results with experiment ind icates that generally the two agree well. Data are presented concernin g all the major system regions, including the hydrocarbon chains, the glycerol region, the lipid headgroups and the hydrating water molecule s. The simulations suggest that this model can be extended to the stud y of more complex systems of greater biochemical interest, such as mem brane bound proteins.