Interleaflet sliding in lipidic bilayers under shear flow: comparison of the gel and fluid phases using reversed non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations.

The friction between two rubbing surfaces lubricated by water can be diminished if they are coated with phospholipidic bilayers or brushes of polyelectrolytes. In the case of a coating by lipid membranes, the friction is lower when the lipids are in the gel phase rather than in the liquid phase. We investigated the response of fluid or gel bilayers to a mechanical load or under shear using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations (NEMD) to understand whether this difference could come from intermonolayer sliding.