Related papers: Engines at molecular scales
Recent experiments demonstrate that molecular motors from the Myosin II family serve as cross-links inducing active tension in the cytoskeletal network. Here we revise the Brownian ratchet model, previously studied in the context of active…
In this paper we investigate the use of path-integral formalism and the concepts of entropy and traffic in the context of molecular motors. We show that together with time-reversal symmetry breaking arguments one can find bounds on…
The transport properties of Brownian ratchet was studied in the presence of stochastic intensity noise (SIN) in both overdamped and underdamped regimes. In the overdamped case, analytical solution using the matrix continued fraction method…
We study diffusion properties of an inertial Brownian motor moving on a ratchet substrate, i.e. a periodic structure with broken reflection symmetry. The motor is driven by an unbiased time-periodic symmetric force which takes the system…
The directed transport of an overdamped Brownian motor moving in a spatially periodic potential that lacks reflection symmetry (i.e. a ratchet potential) is studied when driven by thermal and dichotomic nonequilibrium noise in the presence…
Living systems efficiently use chemical fuel to do work, process information, and assemble patterns despite thermal noise. Whether high efficiency arises from general principles or specific fine-tuning is unknown. Here, applying a recent…
The diffusion of a molecular motor in the presence of a constant external force is considered on the basis of a simple theoretical model. The motor is represented by a Brownian particle moving in a series of parabolic potentials placed…
The pump process of the ratchet model inspired by the $F_o$ rotatory motor of ATP synthase is investigated. In this model there are two kinds of characteristic time. One is dynamical, the relaxation time of the system. Others are chemical,…
Biological molecular machines are enzymes that simultaneously catalyze two processes, one donating free energy and second accepting it. Recent studies show that most native protein enzymes have a rich stochastic dynamics that often…
Molecular motors play pivotal roles in organizing the interior of cells. A motor efficient in cargo transport would move along cytoskeletal filaments with a high speed and a minimal error in transport distance (or time) while consuming a…
Transport phenomena are fundamental in Physics. They allow for information and energy to be exchanged between individual constituents of communication systems, networks or even biological entities. Environmental noise will generally hinder…
Transport phenomena are ubiquitous throughout the science, engineering and technology disciplines as it concerns energy, mass, charge and information exchange between systems. In particular, energy transport in the nanoscale regime has…
Biological nanomachines are nanometer-size macromolecular complexes that catalyze chemical reactions in the presence of substrate molecules. The catalytic functions carried out by such nanomachines in the cytoplasm, and biological membranes…
The origin of biological motion can be traced back to the function of molecular motor proteins. Cytoplasmic dynein and kinesin transport organelles within our cells moving along a polymeric filament, the microtubule. The motion of the…
Brownian motors, or ratchets, are devices which "rectify" Brownian motion, i.e. they can generate a current of particles out of unbiased fluctuations. The ratchet effect is a very general phenomenon which applies to a wide range of physical…
Active gels perform key mechanical roles inside the cell, such as cell division, motion and force sensing. The unique mechanical properties required to perform such functions arise from the interactions between molecular motors and…
Motor enzymes catalyze chemical reactions, like the hydrolysis of ATP, and in the process they also perform work. Recent studies indicate that motor enzymes perform work with specific intermediate steps in their catalyzed reactions,…
A model of Brownian particles with the ability to take up energy from the environment, to store it in an internal depot, and to convert internal energy into kinetic energy of motion, is discussed. The general dynamics outlined in Sect. 2 is…
Molecular motors fulfill critical functions within all living beings. Understanding their underlying working principles is therefore of great interest. Here we develop a simple model inspired by the two-component biomolecular motor Fo-F1…
Cell is the structural and functional unit of life. This Resource Letter serves as a guide to the literature on nano-machines which drive not only intracellular movements, but also motility of the cell. These machines are usually proteins…