Properties of a Hydrated Excess Proton Near the Cholesterol-Containing Phospholipid Bilayer

In order to study effects of cholesterol (Chol) on the interaction between the excess proton and the phospholipid bilayer, reactive molecular dynamics simulations are performed with the multistate empirical valence bond model. Although Chol significantly affects the bilayer structure, the proton affinity of the Chol-containing phospholipid bilayer is as high as that of the pure phospholipid bilayer. It is found that the excess proton is strongly trapped by the carbonyl groups and the phosphate groups of the phospholipids. This structure is quite similar to the structure observed in the pure lipid bilayer systems.