Related papers: Pulling cargo increases the precision of molecular…
Catalysis-driven synthetic molecular motors operate in a loose mechanochemical coupling regime, one in which a decomposition of a fuel molecule does not reliably produce a forward step. In that regime, stochastic backward steps can…
Molecular signalling in living cells occurs at low copy numbers and is thereby inherently limited by the noise imposed by thermal diffusion. The precision at which biochemical receptors can count signalling molecules is intimately related…
Molecular motors convert chemical energy into mechanical work while operating in an environment dominated by Brownian motion. The aim of this paper is to explore the flow of energy between the molecular motors and its surroundings, in…
Micro/nano-scale propulsion has attracted considerable recent attention due to its promise for biomedical applications such as targeted drug delivery. In this paper, we report on a new experimental design and theoretical modelling of…
Taking inspiration from the crawling motion of biological cells on a substrate, we consider a physical model of self-propulsion where the spatio-temporal driving can involve both, a mechanical actuation by active force couples, and a…
Inside cells, cargos such as vesicles and organelles are transported by molecular motors to their correct locations via active motion on cytoskeletal tracks and passive, Brownian diffusion. During the transportation of cargos, motor-cargo…
The collective motion of microorganisms and microrobots can be used for particle delivery, especially when guided by external magnetic fields, phototaxis, or chemotaxis. This cargo transport is enhanced significantly by hydrodynamic…
Catalytically active particles suspended in a liquid can move due to self-phoresis by generating solute gradients via chemical reactions of the solvent occurring at parts of their surface. Such particles can be used as carriers at the…
We study microscopic engines that use a single active particle as their "working medium". Part of the energy required to drive the directed motion of the particle can be recovered as work, even at constant temperature. A wide class of…
Particles moving in oscillating potential with broken mirror symmetry are considered. We calculate their energetic efficiency, when acting as molecular motors carrying a load against external force. It is shown that interaction between…
We analyze theoretically the problem of cargo transport along microtubules by motors of two species with opposite polarities. We consider two different one-dimensional models previously developed in the literature. On the one hand, a quite…
Dynein motors exhibit catch bonding, where the unbinding rate of the motors from microtubule filaments decreases with increasing opposing load. The implications of this catch bond on the transport properties of dynein-driven cargo are yet…
The kinesin superfamily of motor proteins is a major driver of anterograde transport of vesicles and organelles within eukaryotic cells via microtubules. Numerous studies have elucidated the step-size, velocities, forces, and navigation…
We study colonies of non-motile, rod-shaped bacteria growing on solid substrates. In our model, bacteria interact purely mechanically, by pushing each other away as they grow, and consume a diffusing nutrient. We show that mechanical…
In recent years, several artificial molecular motors driven and controlled by electric currents have been proposed. Similar to Brownian machines, these systems work by turning random inelastic tunneling events into a directional rotation of…
Cargo distribution within eukaryotic cells relies on the active transport mechanisms driven by molecular motors. Despite their critical role, the intricate relationship between motor transport properties and cargo binding - and its impact…
The use of active colloids for cargo transport offers unique potential for applications ranging from targeted drug delivery to lab-on-a-chip systems. Previously, Janus particles (JPs), acting as mobile microelectrodes have been shown to…
The extraction of membrane tubes by molecular motors is known to play an important role for the transport properties of eukaryotic cells. By studying a generic class of models for the tube extraction, we discover a rich phase diagram. In…
Most computer simulations of molecular dynamics take place under equilibrium conditions--in a closed, isolated system, or perhaps one held at constant temperature or pressure. Sometimes, extra tensions, shears, or temperature gradients are…
We introduce a generic, purely mechanical model for environment sensitive motion of mammalian cells that is applicable to chemotaxis, haptotaxis, and durotaxis as modes of motility. It is able to theoretically explain all relevant…