The Aggregation of Striped Nanoparticles in Mixed Phospholipid Bilayers

We have used molecular dynamics (MD) to study the interaction of ligand-functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) with striped configurations of hydrophobic and hydrophilic ligands with mixed bilayers. As such NPs have been considered a potential drug-delivery mechanism, it is important to consider the secondary effects the inclusion of such NPs may cause in the heterogeneous environment inside the lipid bilayer, which would give an insight into how to optimize the NP functionalization for the most efficient delivery. We show that NPs can aggregate by inducing raft-like formations around each NP, which allows the subsequent aggregation of the NPs which reduces the overall surface area of the line tension around each NP.