Size-Dependent Interaction of Nanoparticles with Nonionic Bilayers

04 March 2020, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Understanding the mechanism of transit of a nanoparticle (NP) through a biomimetic bilayer has been at the forfront of research for the design of efficient drug-delivery mechanisms, nanotechnology and biomedicine. Establishing a consistent picture of how the transit mechanism depends on the physiochemical property of a NP is critical to understanding what approach may be the most effective for nanomedicine design. In this study, using molecular simulation techniques, we have analyzed the key properties of a NP that may affect the mechanism of transit - the effect of size and hydrophobicity. By using a continuum model of a NP based on the Hamaker potential, we have created NP of tunable hydrophobic properties. The effect of hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and mixed properties of the NP is analyzed against a biomimetic bilayer - we show that this model can illustrate three distinct properties - where the hydrophilic type shows rupture of the bilayer, the hydrophobic type showing a entrapment of the NP around the hydrophobic tailgroups of the bilayer, and the mixed type showing a distinct, direct translocation type mechanism. Increasing the NP size shows different effects for each type of NP, and hence, may provide insight into the design of NPs with these types of mechanisms involved.

Keywords

Simulation and modeling

Supplementary materials

Title
Description
Actions
Title
SuppInfo
Description
Actions

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.