Figure 2.

Calculated membrane shapes for the cylindrically symmetrical configurations of peptides: (A) an isolated monomer, (B) a pair of juxtaposed monomers, and (C) a conductive dimer. The dashed curves illustrate the shape of the intermonolayer surfaces, and the solid curves illustrate the shapes of the neutral surfaces of the monolayers. Gramicidin molecules are shown as gray rectangles. (D) The radial distribution of the bilayer hydrophobic thickness, H_u(r) − H_d(r) (see Eq. S1), is shown around an isolated monomer (red curve), a pair of juxtaposed monomers (blue curve), and a dimer (green curve). (E) The radial distribution of the area per lipid molecule, a(r) = a₀(1 + α(r)), is shown around an isolated monomer (red curve), a pair of juxtaposed monomers (blue curve), and a dimer (green curve). The elastic properties of the membrane correspond to these of DOPC (diC18:1), except for the spontaneous curvature: it was assumed to be zero. To see this figure in color, go online.