Related papers: Molecular motors: design, mechanism and control

Cells control fluid flows with a spatial and temporal precision that far exceeds the capabilities of current microfluidic technologies. Cells achieve this superior spatio-temporal control by harnessing dynamic networks of cytoskeleton and…

Simulations can help unravel the complicated ways in which molecular structure determines function. Here, we use molecular simulations to show how slight alterations of a molecular motor's structure can cause the motor's typical dynamical…

Bacterial cellulose biofilms are complex networks of strong interwoven nanofibers that control transport and protect bacterial colonies in the film. Design of diverse applications of bacterial cellulose films also relies on understanding…

Different propulsion mechanisms have been suggested for describing the motion of a variety of chemical micromotors, including the bubble-recoil mechanism, which has attracted great attention in the last decades due to its high efficiency…

Movements of molecular motors on cytoskeletal filaments are described by directed walks on a line. Detachment from this line is allowed to occur with a small probability. Motion in the surrounding fluid is described by symmetric random…

Magnetic gels with embedded micro/nano-sized magnetic particles in crosslinked polymer networks can be actuated by external magnetic fields, with changes in their internal microscopic structures and macroscopic mechanical properties. We…

Torque is ubiquitous in many molecular systems, including collisions, chemical reactions, vibrations, electronic excitations and especially rotor molecules. We present a straightforward theoretical method based on forces acting on atoms and…

Machine learning (ML) has emerged as a pervasive tool in science, engineering, and beyond. Its success has also led to several synergies with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which we use to identify and characterize the major…

Large molecules have complex potential-energy surfaces with many local minima. They exhibit multiple stereo-isomers, even at very low temperatures. In this paper we discuss the different approaches for the manipulation of the motion of…

Active gels perform key mechanical roles inside the cell, such as cell division, motion and force sensing. The unique mechanical properties required to perform such functions arise from the interactions between molecular motors and…

A variety of computational models have been developed to describe active matter at different length and time scales. The diversity of the methods and the challenges in modeling active matter---ranging from molecular motors and cytoskeletal…

Efficient navigation and precise localization of Brownian micro/nano self-propelled motor particles within complex landscapes could enable future high-tech applications involving for example drug delivery, precision surgery, oil recovery,…

Active diffusion of intracellular components is emerging as an important process in cell biology. This process is mediated by complex assemblies of molecular motors and cytoskeletal filaments that drive force generation in the cytoplasm and…

In intracellular transports, motor proteins transport macromolecules as cargos to desired locations by moving on biopolymers such as microtubules. Recent experiments suggest that cargos that can associate motor proteins during their…

Here we demonstrate a synthetic micro-engine, based on long-range controlled movement of colloidal particles, which is induced by a local catalytic reaction. The directed motion at long timescales was achieved by placing specially designed…

We study the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of different traffic models for kinesin which are relevant in biological and experimental contexts. We find that motor-motor interactions play a fundamental role by enhancing the…

Molecular machines described in this paper are meant to be such molecular systems that make use of conformational mobility (i.e. hindered rotation around chemical bonds and molecular construction deformations with formation and breakage of…

Nanotechnology-based microscopic robots could provide accurate in vivo measurement of chemicals in the bloodstream for detailed biological research and as an aid to medical treatment. Quantitative performance estimates of such devices…

Transport of molecular motors along protein filaments in a half-closed geometry is a common feature of biologically relevant processes in cellular protrusions. Using a lattice gas model we study how the interplay between active and…

Spontaneous directed motion, a hallmark of cell biology, is unusual in classical statistical physics. Here we study, using both numerical and analytical methods, organized motion in models of the cytoskeleton in which constituents are…