Related papers: Active droplets controlled by enzymatic reactions
A novel mechanism of reaction-induced active molecular motion, not involving any kind of self-propulsion, is proposed and analyzed. Because of the momentum exchange with the surrounding solvent, conformational transitions in…
Motivated by recent experiments on biomimetic membranes exposed to several aqueous phases, we theoretically study the morphology of a membrane in contact with a liquid droplet formed via aqueous phase separation. We concentrate on membranes…
A two-dimensional mathematical model for dynamics of endothelial cells in angiogenesis is investigated. Angiogenesis is a morphogenic process in which new blood vessels emerge from an existing vascular network. Recently a one-dimensional…
Biomolecular condensates constitute a newly recognized form of spatial organization in living cells. Although many condensates are believed to form as a result of phase separation, the physicochemical properties that determine the phase…
Some members of the vegetal kingdom can achieve surprisingly fast movements making use of a clever combination of evaporation, elasticity and cavitation. In this process, enthalpic energy is transformed into elastic energy and suddenly…
Active Brownian particles (ABPs) represent a minimal model of active matter consisting of self-propelled spheres with purely repulsive interactions and rotational noise. Here, we examine the pressure of ABPs in two dimensions in both closed…
The bacterium E. coli maneuvers itself to regions with high chemoattractant concentrations by performing two stereotypical moves: `runs', in which it moves in near straight lines, and `tumbles', in which it does not advance but changes…
Turbulent mixing and entrainment at the boundary of a cloud is studied by means of direct numerical simulations that couple the Eulerian description of the turbulent velocity and water vapor fields with a Lagrangian ensemble of cloud water…
We report a systematic study of the dynamics of chain formation in electrorheological (ER) fluids using Brownian Dynamics simulations. The parameters of the system such as applied electric field, polarizability, dipole moment, friction…
When an ensemble of particles interact hydrodynamically, they generically display large-scale transient structures such as swirls in sedimenting particles [1], or colloidal strings in sheared suspensions [2]. Understanding these…
We review theoretical models of individual motility as well as collective dynamics and pattern formation of active particles. We focus on simple models of active dynamics with a particular emphasis on nonlinear and stochastic dynamics of…
Spatial organization in metabolic pathways can arise from the interplay between enzymatic reaction kinetics and diffusion-driven instabilities. In this work we investigate how reversible enzyme--substrate binding influences pattern…
Biological molecular machines are bifunctional enzymes that catalyze two processes: one donating free energy and the other accepting it. Recent studies show that most protein enzymes have rich stochastic dynamics of transitions between the…
Living cells use phase separation and concentration gradients to organize chemical compartments in space. Here, we present a theoretical study of droplet dynamics in gradient systems. We derive the corresponding growth law of droplets and…
We consider stochastic rules of mass transport which lead to steady states that factorize over the links of a one-dimensional ring. Based on the knowledge of the steady states, we derive the onset of a phase transition from a liquid to a…
We investigate the dynamical behavior of simple modules composed of two genes with two or three regulating connections. Continuous dynamics for mRNA and protein concentrations is compared to a Boolean model for gene activity. Using a…
Chemical reactions involve the movement of charges, and this work presents a mathematical model for describing chemical reactions in electrolytes. The model is developed using an energy variational method that aligns with classical…
Phase separation of various materials has been studied for one and a half centuries. In the last two decades, phase separation of proteins and nucleic acids has received enormous attention, due its relevance to cellular functions. However,…
The conformational dynamics of a single protein molecule in a shear flow is investigated using Brownian dynamics simulations. A structure-based coarse grained model of a protein is used. We consider two proteins, ubiquitin and integrin, and…
Enzymes are nano-scale machines that have evolved to drive chemical reactions out of equilibrium in the right place at the right time. Given the complexity and specificity of enzymatic function, bottom-up design of enzymes presents a…