Hydration repulsion between biomembranes results from an interplay of dehydration and depolarization
Open accessAbstract
Hydration repulsion dominates the interaction between polar surfaces in water at nanometer separations and ultimately prevents the sticking together of biological matter. Although confirmed by a multitude of experimental methods for various systems, its mechanism remained unclear. A simulation technique is introduced that yields accurate pressures between solvated surfaces at prescribed water chemical potential and is applied to a stack of phospholipid bilayers. Experimental pressure data are quantitatively reproduced and the simulations unveil a rich microscopic picture: Direct membrane–membrane interactions are attractive but overwhelmed by repulsive indirect water contributions. Below about 17 water molecules per lipid, this indirect repulsion is of an energetic nature and due to desorption of hydration water; for larger hydration it is entropic and suggested to involve water depolarization. This antagonistic nature and the presence of various compensating contributions indicate that the hydration repulsion is less universal than previously assumed and rather involves finely tuned surface-water interactions.
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The unporated system at D_PO4 ≈ 0.61 nm corresponds to extreme dehydration of n_w = 5 water/lipid at the midplane, while D_PO4 ≈ 0.9 nm in electroporated bilayers corresponds to n_w ≈ 11-13 water/lipid at the midplane.
“The latter system corresponds to extreme dehydation of n w = 5 water/lipid at the midplane, considering that the hydration shell of unperturbed POPC is n w = 10-12 water/lipid [37][38][39] , while indeed D PO4 ≈ 0.9 nm in the electroporated bilayers corresponds to n w ≈ 11-13 water/lipid at the midplane (SI Table 1).”
From Fusion of lipid membranes: an alternative pathway (2026) · cites this paper as [37]
The Results and Discussion describe 4–5 water molecules per lipid as low hydration in DPPC bilayers, supporting the general characterization of five as severe dehydration. The cited passage does not establish a 10–12-water hydration shell for unperturbed POPC. The D_PO4 distances and midplane water counts appear to come from the citing paper’s SI Table 1, not from this source. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredElectropores promote metastable interbilayer splays, lowering the energy barrier for peripore stalk formation even at membrane separations >1 nm, conditions under which strong hydration repulsion would otherwise hinder stalk formation.
“Our proposed membrane fusion pathway centers on electropores, which promote metastable interbilayer splays, lowering the energy barrier for peripore stalk formation even at membrane separations >1 nm -conditions under which strong hydration repulsion would otherwise hinder stalk formation 4,7,37 .”
From Fusion of lipid membranes: an alternative pathway (2026) · cites this paper as [37]
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Ion-Specific and pH-Dependent Hydration of Mica–Electrolyte Interfaces
van Lin, S. R., Grotz, K. K., Siretanu, I., Schwierz, N., & Mugele, F. (2019) · Langmuir · doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b00520 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Fusion of lipid membranes: an alternative pathway
Jin, D., Li, Z., Roke, S., & Klein, J. (2026) · doi:10.64898/2026.02.19.706911
- Authors
- Schneck, E., Sedlmeier, F., & Netz, R. R.
- Affiliations
- Technical University of Munich (DE)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2012-08-20
- Volume
- 109
- Issue
- 36
- Pages
- 14405-14409
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC3437872
- OpenAlex
- W1966395756
- Cited by
- 163
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 6
- FWCI
- 3.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Refubium (Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin) (submittedVersion)
- TUbilio (Technical University of Darmstadt) (submittedVersion)
- Universitätsbibliothek der FU Berlin Hochschulschriftenstelle u. Dokumentenserver
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Allianz Industrie Forschung
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
- Leibniz-Rechenzentrum
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Physical and Theoretical Chemistry › Electrostatics and Colloid Interactions
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Biophysics › Chemical and Physical Studies
- Keywords
- hydration repulsion, biological membranes, phospholipid bilayers, membrane-membrane interactions, entropic repulsion, surface pressure, chemical potential of water, membrane stacking
- MeSH terms
- Lipid Bilayers, Models, Chemical, Pressure, Water, Molecular Dynamics Simulation
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