Relating helix tilt in a bilayer to lipid disorder: a mean-field theory.

We present a mean-field theory relating the helix tilt angle in a bilayer to lipid disorder. The theory provides a method to compare the rotational barriers for different helices in lipid bilayers. The results suggest that the helix tilt angle is strongly affected by both the hydrophobicity of the helix and the average lipid disorder. This leads us to point out future experiments that could shed light on lipid-protein interactions.