Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Biomolecular Structures in Nanosecond, Megavolt-per-Meter, Pulsed Electric Fields

Tom Vernier is research associate professor in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering's Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering. He is also the engineering manager of MOSIS, the integrated circuit fabrication service at Viterbi's Information Sciences Institute. His current research is focused in the field of bioelectrics, which examines the effect of pulsed electric fields on biological cells and tissues.

To understand the perturbative, non-lethal effects of high-intensity, extremely short bursts of electrical energy on biological systems, Vernier and his research team use HPCC resources to conduct atomic-scale simulations of lipid bilayers, a primary point of interaction between electric fields and cells. Although the permeabilization and molecular reorganization of cell membranes after exposure to nanosecond pulsed electric fields can be detected experimentally, it is very challenging to directly observe these nanoscale events during the billionths of a second that the electric field is applied.

Instead, Vernier and his team generate computer simulations that provide nanosecond- and nanometer-scale windows onto how these bioelectrical interactions develop on the basis of the fundamental physical and electrical properties of the molecules. The insights drawn from these molecular dynamics simulations allow the researchers to develop hypotheses that they can test experimentally in the bioelectrics laboratory. Data collected during these experiments, in turn, prompt and inform new simulations, creating a self-correcting cycle of computer modeling and experiments with living cells.

Vernier's simulations provide part of the scientific foundation for his collaborative efforts with Martin Gundersen, professor of electrical engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering; David Sawcer, assistant professor of clinical dermatology at the Keck School of Medicine; and research engineers at the Alfred E. Mann Institute (AMI) for Biomedical Engineering to develop a new skin cancer therapy. The method involves applying a series of short, electric pulses directly to lesions on the skin, which causes cancer cells within the affected area to die within a few hours. Vernier's research has received support from AMI, MOSIS, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.