We present an improved and extended version of our coarse grained lipid model. The new version, coined the MARTINI force field, is parametrized in a systematic way, based on the reproduction of partitioning free energies between polar and apolar phases of a large number of chemical compounds. To reproduce the free energies of these chemical building blocks, the number of possible interaction levels of the coarse-grained sites has increased compared to those of the previous model. Application of the new model to lipid bilayers shows an improved behavior in terms of the stress profile across the bilayer and the tendency to form pores. An extension of the force field now also allows the simulation of planar (ring) compounds, including sterols. Application to a bilayer/cholesterol system at various concentrations shows the typical cholesterol condensation effect similar to that observed in all atom representations.

The coarse-grained Martini force field is widely used in biomolecular simulations. Here, we present the refined model, Martini 3 (http://cgmartini.nl), with an improved interaction balance, new bead types, and expanded ability to include specific interactions representing, e.g. hydrogen bonding and electronic polarizability. The new model allows more accurate predictions of molecular packing and interactions in general, which is exemplified with a vast and diverse set of applications, ranging from oil/water partitioning and miscibility data to complex molecular systems, involving protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions and material science applications as ionic liquids and aedamers.

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The detailed organization of cellular membranes remains rather elusive. Based on large-scale molecular dynamics simulations, we provide a high-resolution view of the lipid organization of a plasma membrane at an unprecedented level of complexity. Our plasma membrane model consists of 63 different lipid species, combining 14 types of headgroups and 11 types of tails asymmetrically distributed across the two leaflets, closely mimicking an idealized mammalian plasma membrane. We observe an enrichment of cholesterol in the outer leaflet and a general non-ideal lateral mixing of the different lipid species. Transient domains with liquid-ordered character form and disappear on the microsecond time scale. These domains are coupled across the two membrane leaflets. In the outer leaflet, distinct nanodomains consisting of gangliosides are observed. Phosphoinositides show preferential clustering in the inner leaflet. Our data provide a key view on the lateral organization of lipids in one of life's fundamental structures, the cell membrane.

A coarse-grained (CG) model for polyethylene oxide (PEO) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) developed within the framework of the MARTINI CG force field (FF) using the distributions of bonds, angles, and dihedrals from the CHARMM all-atom FF is presented. Densities of neat low molecular weight PEO agree with experiment, and the radius of gyration R g = 19.1 ű0.7 for 76-mers of PEO (M w ≈ 3400), in excellent agreement with neutron scattering results for an equal sized PEG. Simulations of 9,18,27,36,44,67, 76, 90, 112, 135, and 158-mers of the CG PEO (442 < M w < 6998) at low concentration in water show the experimentally observed transition from ideal chain to real chain behavior at 1600 < M w < 2000, in excellent agreement with the dependence of experimentally observed hydrodynamic radii of PEG. Hydrodynamic radii of PEO calculated from diffusion coefficients of the higher M w PEO also agree well with experiment. R g calculated from both all-atom and CG simulations of PEO76 at 21 and 148 mg/cm 3 are found to be nearly equal. This lack of concentration dependence implies that apparent R g from scattering experiments at high concentration should not be taken to be the chain dimension. Simulations of PEO grafted to a nonadsorbing surface yield a mushroom to brush transition that is well described by the Alexanderde Gennes formalism.

We present an extension of the Martini coarse-grained force field to carbohydrates. The parametrization follows the same philosophy as was used previously for lipids and proteins, focusing on the reproduction of partitioning free energies of small compounds between polar and nonpolar phases. The carbohydrate building blocks considered are the monosaccharides glucose and fructose and the disaccharides sucrose, trehalose, maltose, cellobiose, nigerose, laminarabiose, kojibiose, and sophorose. Bonded parameters for these saccharides are optimized by comparison to conformations sampled with an atomistic force field, in particular with respect to the representation of the most populated rotameric state for the glycosidic bond. Application of the new coarse-grained carbohydrate model to the oligosaccharides amylose and Curdlan shows a preservation of the main structural properties with 3 orders of magnitude more efficient sampling than the atomistic counterpart. Finally, we investigate the cryo- and anhydro-protective effect of glucose and trehalose on a lipid bilayer and find a strong decrease of the melting temperature, in good agreement with both experimental findings and atomistic simulation studies.

In this review we describe the state-of-the-art of computer simulation studies of lipid membranes. We focus on collective lipid-lipid and lipid-protein interactions that trigger deformations of the natural lamellar membrane state, showing that many important biological processes including self-aggregation of membrane components into domains, the formation of non-lamellar phases, and membrane poration and curving, are now amenable to detailed simulation studies.

Coarse-grained (CG) models allow simulation of larger systems for longer times by decreasing the number of degrees of freedom compared with all-atom models. Here we introduce an implicit-solvent version of the popular CG Martini model, nicknamed "Dry" Martini. To account for the omitted solvent degrees of freedom, the nonbonded interaction matrix underlying the Martini force field was reparametrized. The Dry Martini force field reproduces relatively well a variety of lipid membrane properties such as area per lipid, bilayer thickness, bending modulus, and coexistence of liquid-ordered and disordered domains. Furthermore, we show that the new model can be applied to study membrane fusion and tether formation, with results similar to those of the standard Martini model. Membrane proteins can also be included, but less quantitative results are obtained. The absence of water in Dry Martini leads to a significant speedup for large systems, opening the way to the study of complex multicomponent membranes containing millions of lipids.