Permeability of Small Molecules through a Lipid Bilayer: A Multiscale Simulation Study

The transmembrane permeation of eight small (molecular weight <100) organic molecules across a phospholipid bilayer is investigated by multiscale molecular dynamics simulation. The bilayer and hydrating water are represented by simplified, efficient coarse-grain models, whereas the permeating molecules are described by a standard atomic-level force-field. Permeability properties are obtained through a refined version of the z-constraint algorithm. By constraining each permeant at selected depths inside the bilayer, we have sampled free energy differences and diffusion coefficients across the membrane. These data have been combined, according to the inhomogeneous solubility-diffusion model, to yield the permeability coefficients. The results are generally consistent with previous atomic-level calculations and available experimental data. Computationally, our multiscale approach proves 2 orders of magnitude faster than traditional atomic-level methods.