Particle Deformability Enables Control of Interactions between Membrane-Anchored Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles
adsorbed on a membrane can induce deformations
of
the membrane that give rise to effective interactions between the
particles. Previous studies have focused primarily on rigid nanoparticles
with fixed shapes. However, DNA origami technology has enabled the
creation of deformable nanostructures with controllable shapes and
mechanical properties, presenting new opportunities to modulate interactions
between particles adsorbed on deformable surfaces. Here we use coarse-grained
molecular dynamics simulations to investigate deformable, hinge-like
nanostructures anchored to lipid membranes via cholesterol anchors.
We characterize deformations of the particles and membrane as a function
of the hinge stiffness. Flexible particles adopt open configurations
to conform to a flat membrane, whereas stiffer particles induce deformations
of the membrane. We further show that particles spontaneously aggregate
and that cooperative effects lead to changes in their shape when they
are close together. Using umbrella sampling methods, we quantify the
effective interaction between two particles and show that stiffer
hinge-like particles experience stronger and longer-ranged attraction.
Our results demonstrate that interactions between deformable, membrane-anchored
nanoparticles can be controlled by modifying mechanical properties
of the particles, suggesting new ways to modulate the self-assembly
of particles on deformable surfaces.