Tension-induced fusion of bilayer membranes and vesicles

The fusion of 28-nm-diameter vesicles to 50×50 nm2 planar membrane patches over 2μs was analyzed using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) mesoscopic simulation technique. The time evolution of various fusion attempts were monitored which allowed to construct a global morphology diagram, using the initial tensions of the vesicle. The DPD technique included the explicit solvent particles, which reproduce the correct hydrodynamic forces appropriate to a fluid, and was capable of exploring the phase behavior of lipid molecules and simulating vesicle formation. The vesicle fusion in vivo, which involved various proteins occurred on a length scale of tens of nanometers and a timescale that was submillisecond.