Related papers: Continuum Electrostatics in Cell Biology
Electrophoresis is a motion of charged dispersed particles relative to a fluid in a uniform electric field. The effect is widely used to separate macromolecules, to assemble colloidal structures, to transport particles in nano- and…
Cell migration in fibreous extracellular matrix (ECM) is crucial to many physiological and pathological processes such as tissue regeneration, immune response and cancer progression. During migration, individual cells can generate active…
Epithelial cell clusters often move collectively on a substrate. Mechanical signals play a major role in organizing this behavior. There are a number of experimental observations in these systems which await a comprehensive explanation.…
We consider electrostatic interactions in two classes of nanostructures embedded in a three dimensional space: (1) helical nanotubes, and (2) thin films with uniform bending (i.e., constant mean curvature). Starting from the atomic scale…
We present in this paper an original approach to compute the electrophoretic mobility of rigid nucleo-protein complexes like nucleosomes. This model allows to address theoretically the influence of complex position along DNA, as well as…
Living tissues experience various external forces on cells, influencing their behaviour, physiology, shape, gene expression, and destiny through interactions with their environment. Despite much research done in this area, challenges remain…
Dielectrophoresis (DEP), the motion of polarizable particles in non-uniform electric fields, has become an important tool for the transport, separation, and characterization of microparticles in biomedical and nanoelectronics research. In…
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…
Cell migration is crucial to many physiological and pathological processes. During migration, a cell adapts its morphology, including the overall morphology and nucleus morphology, in response to various cues in complex microenvironments,…
The investigation of interactions between magnetic nanotubes is complex and often involves substantial simplifications. In this letter an analytical expression for the magnetostatic interaction, taking into account the geometry of the…
In this paper, we use the cell dynamics method to study the dynamics of phase transformation when three phases exist. The system we study is a two-dimensional system. The system is able to achieve three phases coexistence, which for…
We present a detailed study of the static enhancement effects of electric charges in micron-length single-walled carbon nanotubes, using theoretically an atomic charge-dipole model and experimentally electrostatic force microscopy. We…
The initiation of directional cell motion requires symmetry breaking that can happen both with or without external stimuli. During cell crawling, forces generated by the cytoskeleton and their transmission through mechanosensitive adhesions…
The combination of protrusions and retractions in the movement of polarized cells leads to understand the effect of possible synchronisation between the two ends of the cells. This synchronisation, in turn, could lead to different dynamics…
Magnetotactic bacteria synthesize linear chains of magnetite nanoparticles within their bodies, which allow the bacteria to navigate the Earth's magnetic field in search of the best habitat. Biogenic magnetite particles, called…
Biological cells are able to adapt their behaviour in response to environmental cues. Durotaxis is a phenomenon in which cells adjust their migration depending on the mechanical properties of a surrounding substrate. Although durotaxis has…
We discuss the electrostatic contribution to the elastic moduli of a cell or artificial membrane placed in an electrolyte and driven by a DC electric field. The field drives ion currents across the membrane, through specific channels, pumps…
Electrokinetic flows of an aqueous NaCl solution in nanochannels with negatively charged surfaces are studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The four transport coefficients that characterise the response to weak electric and…
In-vivo, cells are frequently exposed to multiple mechanical stimuli arising from the extracellular microenvironment, with deep impact on many biological functions. On the other hand, current methods for mechanobiology do not allow to…
The discrete and charge-separated nature of matter - electrons and nuclei - results in local electrostatic fields that are ubiquitous in nanoscale structures and are determined by their shape, material, and environment. Such fields are…