Figure 2.

Favorable membrane partitioning of gases. A) Illustration of the partitioning of gas molecules into the membrane from the aqueous solution from an ELS trajectory. This illustration is taken from a flooding simulation of O₂ molecules (shown in red) which are initially distributed in the aqueous solution. As time progresses, O₂ molecules spontaneously enter the membrane and become steadily distributed in both aqueous and lipid phases. More O₂ molecules localize in the membrane than in the aqueous solution. B) Partitioning free energy profiles of O₂ and NO gases in a POPC bilayer calculated using ELS trajectories and ILS. Shaded blue boxes in each plot represent the aqueous solution. Shaded green boxes represent the polar head group of the membrane. Shaded orange boxes represent hydrophobic lipid tails region. A shaded yellow box represent the interface between two membrane leaflets.