Nanomaterials Interaction with Cell Membranes: Computer Simulation Studies

This chapter provides a brief review of computer simulation studies on the interaction of nanomaterials with biomembranes. The interest in this area is governed by the variety of possible biomedical applications of nanoparticles and nanomaterials as well as by the importance of understanding their possible cytotoxicity. Molecular dynamics is a flexible and versatile computer simulation tool, which allows us to research the molecular level mechanisms of nanomaterials interaction with cell or bacterial membrane, predicting in silico their behavior and estimating physicochemical properties. In particular, based on the molecular dynamics simulations, a bio-action mechanism of two-dimensional aluminum hydroxide nanostructures, termed aloohene, was discovered by the research team led by Professor S. G. Psakhie, accounting for its anticancer and antimicrobial properties. Here we review three groups of nanomaterials (NMs) based on their structure: nanoparticles (globular, non-elongated), (quasi)one-dimensional NMs (nanotube, nanofiber, nanorod) and two-dimensional NMs (nanosheet, nanolayer, nanocoated substrate). Analysis of the available in silico studies, thus can enable us a better understanding of how the geometry and surface properties of NMs govern the mechanisms of their interaction with cell or bacterial membranes.