Effects of Hybrid Lipid Concentration on Equilibrium Domain Size in a Lipid Bilayer Immersed in Water

The effects of introducing hybrid lipids to a lipid bilayer containing saturated and unsaturated lipids immersed in water were studied. The lipid and water molecules were modeled as coarsegrained particles. All particles were simulated by using the dissipative particle dynamics method. The results showed that the hybrid lipids accumulated at the interface between the saturated and the unsaturated lipid domains. The relation between the hybrid lipid concentration and the equilibrium domain size was obtained. Moreover, the sizes of the simulated lipid domains are consistent with that given by the lipid raft definition.