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. 2022 Feb 15;12(4):650. doi: 10.3390/nano12040650

Table 1.

Relationships between gt, gh and g0, characterizing the behavior of a 2D nanomaterial in its interaction with the lipid membrane (the figures in the right column schematically show possible mutual configurations: water—light-blue, lipid head—red, lipid tail—purple, 2dNM—black contour, selected lipid—green).

Relationship Description Behavior
ghgt < 0 Interaction with the head group is energetically more favorable than with the tails, leading to nanosheet adsorption by the membrane surface Inline graphic
Adsorption of nanomaterial on membrane surface
0<ghgt<g0 Nanosheet insertion into the bilayer is energetically favorable. Size-dependent mechanical disruption of membrane is also possible Inline graphic
Insertion of nanomaterial into bilayer
g0 < ghgt Nanosheet insertion into the bilayer with lipid extraction and membrane disruption Inline graphic
Disruptive lipid extraction
|gh|, |gt|kBT Nanosheet does not, or weakly, interacts with the cell membrane—non-critical impact Inline graphic
No interaction