Related papers: Gating-by-tilt of mechanosensitive membrane channe…
Biologically important membrane channels are gated by force at attached tethers. Here, we generically characterize the non-trivial interplay of force, membrane tension, and channel deformations that can affect gating. A central finding is…
For ion channel gating, the appearance of two distinct conformational states and the discrete transitions between them is essential, and therefore of crucial importance to all living organisms. We show that the physical interplay between…
Mechanosensitive channels are ion channels activated by membrane tension. We investigate the influence of bacterial mechanosensitive channels spatial distribution on activation (gating). Based on elastic short-range interactions we map this…
Unlike their model membrane counterparts, biological membranes are richly decorated with a heterogeneous assembly of membrane proteins. These proteins are so tightly packed that their excluded area interactions can alter the free energy…
Analytic estimates for the forces and free energy generated by bilayer deformation reveal a compelling and intuitive model for MscL channel gating analogous to the nucleation of a second phase. We argue that the competition between…
We introduce a Markov model for the gating of membrane channels. The model features a possible solution to the so-called gating current paradox, namely that the bell-shaped curve that describes the voltage dependence of the kinetics is…
Molecular motion through pores plays a crucial role in various natural and industrial processes. One of the most fascinating features of biological channel-facilitated transport is a stochastic gating process, when the channels dynamically…
Voltage-dependent ion channels determine the electric properties of axonal cell membranes. They not only allow the passage of ions through the cell membrane but also contribute to an additional charging of the cell membrane resulting in the…
Native membranes of biological cells display melting transitions of their lipids at a temperature of 10-20 degrees below body temperature. Such transitions can be observed in various bacterial cells, in nerves, in cancer cells, but also in…
We present a simple one-dimensional trapping model prompted by the problem of ion current across biological membranes. The trap is modeled mimicking the ionic channel membrane behaviour. Such voltage-sensitive channels are open or closed…
We investigate the formation of the one-dimensional channels on the topological surface under the gate electrode. The energy dispersion of these channels is almost linear in the momentum with the velocity sensitively depending on the…
We examine theoretically porous membranes in aqueous mixtures. We show that large membrane pores can be reversibly gated from `off' (co-solvent-rich, poor conductor of ions and other solutes) to 'on' (water-rich, good conductor) states by…
Many eukaryotic cells are able to perform directional mechanosensing by directly measuring minute spatial differences in the mechanical stress on their membranes. Here, we explore the limits of a single mechanosensitive channel activation…
Lipid bilayer membranes below their main transition have two tilt order parameters, corresponding to the two monolayers. These two tilts may be strongly coupled to membrane shape but only weakly coupled to each other. We discuss some…
In Nature, liquids often circulate in channels textured with leaflets, cilia or porous walls that deform with the flow. These soft structures are optimized to passively control flows and inspire the design of novel microfluidic and soft…
We set up the statistical mechanics for a nearly flat, thermally equilibrated fluid membrane, attached to an elastic network through one of its sides. We predict that the resulting structural (inversion) asymmetry of the membrane, notably…
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…
We propose a mechanism for mechanical regulation at the membrane of living cells, based on the exchange of membrane area between the cell membrane and a membrane reservoir. The reservoir is composed of invaginated membrane microdomains…
We investigate the concept of molecular-sized outward-swinging gate, which allows for entropy decrease in an isolated system. The theoretical analysis, the Monte Carlo simulation, and the direct solution of governing equations all suggest…
Thermal fluctuations are important for amphiphilic bilayer membranes since typical bending stiffnesses can be a few $k_B T$. The rod-like constituent molecules are generically tilted with respect to the local normal for packing reasons. We…