Related papers: Programmable interactions with biomimetic DNA link…
Biological membranes are elastic media in which the presence of a transmembrane protein leads to local bilayer deformation. The energetics of deformation allow two membrane proteins in close proximity to influence each other's equilibrium…
Natural active systems routinely reshape and reorganize their environments through sustained local interactions. Examples of decentralized collective construction are common in nature, e.g., many insects achieve large-scale constructions…
Liquid droplets of biomolecules serve as organizers of the cellular interior and are of interest in biosensing and biomaterials applications. Here, we investigate means to tune the interfacial properties of a model biomolecular liquid…
The design of intelligent materials often draws parallels with the complex adaptive behaviors of biological organisms, where robust functionality stems from sophisticated hierarchical organization and emergent long-distance coordination…
Artificial bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs), along with patch-clamped membranes, are frequently used for functional analyses of membrane proteins. In both methods, the electric properties of membranes are characterized by only one parameter,…
A theory is presented for the binding of small molecules such as surfactants to semiflexible polymers. The persistence length is assumed to be large compared to the monomer size but much smaller than the total chain length. Such polymers…
Self-propelled microparticles create flow fields that determine how they interact with surfaces, external flows, and each other. These flow fields fall into distinct classes--pushers, pullers, and neutral swimmers--each exhibiting…
Active matter agents consume internal energy or extract energy from the environment for locomotion and force generation. Already rather generic models, such as ensembles of active Brownian particles, exhibit phenomena, which are absent at…
Large-scale cellular transformations are triggered by subtle physical and structural changes in individual biomacromolecular and membrane components. A prototypical example of such an event is the orchestrated fusion of membranes within an…
Self-assembly is traditionally described as the process through which an initially disordered system relaxes towards an equilibrium ordered phase only driven by local interactions between its building blocks. However, This definition is too…
Force field-based molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are indispensable for probing the structure, dynamics, and functions of biomolecular systems, including proteins and protein-ligand complexes. Despite their broad utility in drug…
Many cell functions require a concerted effort from multiple membrane proteins, for example, for signaling, cell division, and endocytosis. One contribution to their successful self-organization stems from the membrane deformations that…
In living cells, proteins involved in specialized biochemical functions are often spatially organized within biomolecular condensates. Increasing evidence suggests that some of these condensates, including DNA repair condensates, emerge…
We consider DNA-cationic lipid complexes that form lamellar stacks of lipid bilayers with parallel DNA strands intercalated in between. We calculate the electrostatically induced elastic deformations of the lipid bilayers. It is found that…
In this work, we present a computational formulation based on continuum mechanics to study the interaction of fluid membranes embedded with semiflexible filaments. This is motivated by systems in membrane biology, such as cytoskeletal…
The dynamics of particles interacting by key-lock binding of attached biomolecules are studied theoretically. Examples of such systems include DNA-functionalized colloids as well as nanoparticles grafted with antibodies to cell membrane…
Hydrogels are widespread soft materials, which can serve a wide range of applications. The control over the viscoelastic properties of the gel is of paramount importance. Ongoing environmental issues have raised the consumer's concern…
Cellular membranes are a heterogeneous mix of lipids, proteins and small molecules. Special groupings of saturated lipids and cholesterol form a liquid-ordered phase, known as `lipid rafts,' serving as platforms for signaling, trafficking…
Diatoms have been described as nanometer-born lithographers because of their ability to create sophisticated three-dimensional amorphous silica exoskeletons. The hierarchical architecture of these structures provides diatoms with mechanical…
Deep learning has achieved tremendous success in designing novel chemical compounds with desirable pharmaceutical properties. In this work, we focus on a new type of drug design problem -- generating a small "linker" to physically attach…