Interaction of hydrophobic polymers with model lipid bilayers

The interaction of nanoscale synthetic materials with cell membranes is one of the key steps determining nanomaterials’ toxicity. Here we use molecular simulations, with atomistic and coarse-grained resolution, to investigate the interaction of three hydrophobic polymers with model lipid membranes. Polymer nanoparticles made of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene with size up to 7 nm enter easily POPC lipid membranes, localizing to the membrane hydrophobic core. For all three materials, solid polymeric nanoparticles become essentially liquid within the membrane at room temperature. Still, their behavior in the membrane core is not the same: PP and PS disperse in the core of the bilayer, while PE shows a tendency to aggregate. We also examined the interaction of the polymers with heterogeneous membranes, consisting of a ternary lipid mixture exhibiting liquid-ordered/liquid-disordered phase separation. The behavior of the three polymers is markedly different: PP disfavors lipid phase separation, PS stabilizes it, and PE modifies the topology of the phase boundaries and causes cholesterol depletion from the liquid ordered phase. Our results show that different hydrophobic polymers have major effects on the properties of lipid membranes, calling for further investigations on model systems and cell membranes.