Related papers: Solvable model of a many-filament Brownian ratchet
Many forms of cell motility rely on Brownian ratchet mechanisms that involve multiple stochastic processes. We present a computational and theoretical study of the nonequilibrium statistical dynamics of such a many-body ratchet, in the…
The growth of actin filament networks is a fundamental biological process that drives a variety of cellular and intracellular motions. During motility, eukaryotic cells and intracellular pathogens are propelled by actin networks organized…
The dynamic behavior of bundles of actin filaments growing against a loaded obstacle is investigated through a generalized version of the standard multi filaments Brownian Ratchet model in which the (de)polymerizing filaments are treated…
We study the force generation by a set of parallel actin filaments growing against an elastic membrane. The elastic membrane tries to stay flat and any deformation from this flat state, either caused by thermal fluctuations or due to…
We study a model for the translocation of proteins across membranes through a nanopore using a ratcheting mechanism. When the protein enters the nanopore it diffuses in and out of the pore according to a Brownian motion. Moreover, it is…
We study the mean velocity and diffusion constant in three related models of molecular Brownian ratchets. Brownian ratchets can be used to describe translocation of biopolymers like DNA through nanopores in cells in the presence of…
We study a general model of granular Brownian ratchet consisting of an asymmetric object moving on a line and surrounded by a two-dimensional granular gas, which in turn is coupled to an external random driving force. We discuss the two…
The muscle contraction, operation of ATP synthase, maintaining the shape of a cell are believed to be secured by motor proteins, which can be modelled using the Brownian ratchet mechanism. We consider the randomly flashing ratchet model of…
Elastic confinements are an important component of many biological systems and dictate the transport properties of suspended particles under flow. In this chapter, we review the Brownian motion of a particle moving in the vicinity of a…
A polymer model given in terms of beads, interacting through Hookean springs and hydrodynamic forces, is studied. Brownian dynamics description of this bead-spring polymer model is extended to multiple resolutions. Using this multiscale…
A ratchet model for coupled Brownian motors, inspired by the motion of individual two-headed molecular motors on cytoskeletal filaments, is proposed. Such motors are modeled as two elastically coupled Brownian particles, each of which moves…
Cells moving on a two dimensional substrate generate motion by polymerizing actin filament networks inside a flat membrane protrusion. New filaments are generated by branching off existing ones, giving rise to branched network structures.…
We study the motion of a solid particle immersed in a Newtonian fluid and confined between two parallel elastic membranes possessing shear and bending rigidity. The hydrodynamic mobility depends on the frequency of the particle motion due…
Slender bodies capable of spontaneous motion in the absence of external actuation in an otherwise quiescent fluid are common in biological, physical and technological contexts. The interplay between the spontaneous fluid flow, Brownian…
We treat the problem of particle pushing by growing ice as a free diffusion near a wall that moves with discrete steps. When the particle diffuse away from the surface the surface can grow, blocking the particle from going back. Elementary…
The dynamics of filaments in flow are central to understanding a wide range of biological and soft-matter systems, yet their behavior under time-dependent forcing remains poorly understood. Here, we investigate the long-time dynamics of…
In various cellular processes, biofilaments like F-actin and F-tubulin are able to exploit chemical energy associated to polymerization to perform mechanical work against an external load. The force-velocity relationship quantitatively…
We investigate the effect of filament-obstacle interactions on the force-velocity relation of growing biopolymers, via calculations explicitly treating obstacle diffusion and stochastic addition and subtraction of subunits. We first show…
Consider a massive (inert) particle impinged from above by N Brownian particles that are instantaneously reflected upon collision with the inert particle. The velocity of the inert particle increases due to the influence of an external…
Many of the cell membrane vital functions are achieved by the self-organization of the proteins and biopolymers embedded in it. The protein dynamics are in part determined by its drag. A large number of these proteins can polymerize to form…