{
  "abstract": "Cholesterol modulates membrane packing and mechanics, but how concentration reshapes the free-energy landscape from water-defect nucleation to pore expansion remains incompletely resolved. Here, all-atom molecular dynamics, a continuous joint pore coordinate, umbrella sampling under applied potentials, and unbiased direct-field trajectories were combined for a controlled 300 K DMPC/cholesterol series. Across the low-to-medium range, cholesterol increased the characteristic nucleation-region free-energy cost and pore-edge line tension while making metastable pore states shallower; increasing potential lowered hydrated-defect growth costs. Direct-field simulations at composition-specific operational pore-onset potentials separately showed composition-dependent channel timing and pore lifetimes, operationally defined by continuous-water connectivity. Matched DMPC, POPC, and DOPC membranes containing 20 mol % cholesterol showed lipid-dependent responses in nucleation-region profiles, core hydration, charge-density-derived relative electrostatic potentials, and pore structure. The 66 mol % DMPC system defined a distinct high-cholesterol response that departed from lower-concentration trends. Overall, electroporation emerged as a composition- and field-dependent remodeling of the poration landscape, with the matched 20 mol % systems further revealing lipid-dependent responses.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Chongqing University , , ,",
    "Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications , , ,",
    "Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University , , ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xinyu Peng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Xin Song",
      "orcid": "0009-0008-6035-8414"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lisheng Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sizhe Xiang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yuan Lei"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zhiliang Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chenguo Yao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shoulong Dong",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6104-0282"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6ezqhas8zpy24.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1021/acsomega.6c07907",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.6c07907",
  "id": "6ezqhas8zpy24",
  "issns": [
    "2470-1343"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c07907/5454036/Cholesterol-Reshapes-Electroporation-Energetics-in",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "QD1-999"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222945022",
  "pdf_url": "https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.6c07907",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6ezqhas8zpy24.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:39Z",
      "native_id": "10.1021/acsomega.6c07907",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c07907/5454036/Cholesterol-Reshapes-Electroporation-Energetics-in"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T14:20:38Z",
      "native_id": "10494f2aaef64c9f9de1e6dbd8922a76",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.6c07907"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Cholesterol Reshapes Electroporation Energetics in Phosphatidylcholine Model Membranes",
  "title_text": "Cholesterol Reshapes Electroporation Energetics in Phosphatidylcholine Model Membranes",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-05T14:20:34Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6ezqhas8zpy24",
  "venue": "ACS Omega",
  "versions": []
}