Related papers: Single-cell bacterial electrophysiology reveals me…
The electrophysiology of betacells is at the origin of insulin secretion. Betacells exhibit a complex behaviour upon stimulation with glucose including repeated and uninterrupted bursting. Mathematical modelling is most suitable to improve…
Bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is one of the ion-driven molecular machines, which drives the rotation of flagellar filaments and enable bacteria to swim in viscous solutions. Understanding its mechanism is one challenge in biophysics.…
Self-propelling micromotors are emerging as a promising microscale and nanoscale tool for single-cell analysis. We have recently shown that the field gradients necessary to manipulate matter via dielectrophoresis can be induced at the…
We report an in-vivo electromechanical Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) study of charge distribution on the cell wall of Gram plus Rhodococcus wratislaviensis bacteria, naturally adherent to a glass substrate, in physiological conditions. The…
Bacterial cells exhibit a diverse array of shapes and sizes, largely governed by their cell walls in conjunction with cytoskeletal proteins and internal turgor pressure. The present study develops a theoretical framework for modeling the…
The bacterial flagellar motor is an ion-powered transmembrane protein complex which drives swimming in many bacterial species. The motor consists of a cytoplasmic 'rotor' ring and a number of 'stator' units, which are bound to the cell wall…
Information processing in the mammalian brain relies on a careful regulation of the membrane potential dynamics of its constituent neurons, which propagates across the neuronal tissue via electrical signalling. We recently reported the…
Photoinduced charge-transfer excitations are key to understand the primary processes of natural photosynthesis and for designing photovoltaic and photocatalytic devices. In this paper, we use Bacteriochlorophyll dimers extracted from the…
All cells must sustain ionic motive forces (IMFs) -- the electrochemical gradients of permeant ions, together with the membrane potential they produce -- to regulate intracellular pH, drive secondary transport, and power ATP synthesis.…
The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is responsible for driving bacterial locomotion and chemotaxis, fundamental processes in pathogenesis and biofilm formation. In the BFM, torque is generated at the interface between transmembrane proteins…
Biomembranes are thin capacitors with the unique feature of displaying phase transitions in a physiologically relevant regime. We investigate the voltage and lateral pressure dependence of their capacitance close to their chain melting…
Respiration in bacteria involves a sequence of energetically-coupled electron and proton transfers creating an electrochemical gradient of protons (a proton-motive force) across the inner bacterial membrane. With a simple kinetic model we…
The observation of neuron-like behaviour in bacteria, such as the occurrence of electric spiking and extended bioelectric signalling, points to the role of membrane dynamics in prokaryotes. Electrophysiology of bacteria, however, has been…
The hydrodynamic interactions among bacterial cell bodies, flagella, and surrounding boundaries are essential for understanding bacterial motility in complex environments. In this study, we demonstrate that each slender flagellum can be…
The electropermeabilization of biological cell membranes by the application of an external field occurs whenever an applied field exceeds a threshold value. For fields above this threshold value but less than another critical value, the…
We present a minimal physical model for the flagellar motor that enables bacteria to swim. Our model explains the experimentally measured torque-speed relationship of the proton-driven E. coli motor at various pH and temperature conditions.…
Bacteriochlorophyll and Chlorophyll molecules are crucial building blocks of the photosynthetic apparatus in bacteria, algae and plants. Embedded in transmembrane protein complexes, they are responsible for the primary processes of…
An accurate modelling of bio-electrochemical processes that govern Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) and mapping their behaviour according to several parameters will enhance the development of MFC technology and enable their successful…
The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) converts transmembrane ion flux into directed mechanical rotation, driving bacterial motility. Despite extensive study, the frictional forces and energetics governing its torque generation remain poorly…
A simple first-principles mathematical model is developed to predict the performance of a micro photosynthetic power cell ($\mu$PSC), an electrochemical device which generates electricity by harnessing electrons from photosynthesis in the…