Related papers: Fluctuation-Driven Molecular Transport in an Asymm…
Among aquaglyceroporins that transport both water and glycerol across the cell membrane, Escherichia coli glycerol uptake facilitator (GlpF) is the most thoroughly studied. However, one question remains: Does glycerol modulate water…
Diffusive transport of particles or, more generally, small objects is a ubiquitous feature of physical and chemical reaction systems. In configurations containing confining walls or constrictions transport is controlled both by the…
A ubiquitous observation in cell biology is that diffusion of macromolecules and organelles is anomalous, and a description simply based on the conventional diffusion equation with diffusion constants measured in dilute solution fails. This…
Information transmission in cells occurs quite accurately even when concentration changes are "read" by individual target molecules. In this Letter we study molecule number fluctuations when molecules diffuse and react. We show that, for…
We study numerically an electronic transport in strongly anisotropic weakly disorderd two-dimensional systems. We find that the conductance distribution is gaussian but the conductance fluctuations increase when anisotropy becomes stronger.…
Cells are constantly exposed to diverse stimuli-chemical, mechanical, or electrical-that guide their movement. In physiological conditions, these signals often overlap, as seen during infections, where neutrophils and dendritic cells…
Anion exchange membranes are used in alkaline fuel cells and offer a promising alternative to the more expensive proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, hydroxide ion conductivity in anion exchange membranes is low, and the quest for…
Biological membranes and vesicles play a central role in living systems, forming dynamic interfaces that regulate cellular organization and function. Classical descriptions of membrane mechanics that are rooted in equilibrium statistical…
The transport of individual entities through interconnected structures is a process of practical relevance both in biology and technology. Examples are given by diffusive dynamics of molecules in porous structures. In soft environments,…
Cell membranes interact with a myriad of curvature-active proteins that control membrane morphology and are responsible for mechanosensation and mechanotransduction. Some of these proteins, such as those containing BAR domains, are curved…
Cells control fluid flows with a spatial and temporal precision that far exceeds the capabilities of current microfluidic technologies. Cells achieve this superior spatio-temporal control by harnessing dynamic networks of cytoskeleton and…
Many cellular components are present in such low numbers that individual stochastic production and degradation events lead to significant fluctuations in molecular abundances. Although feedback control can, in principle, suppress such…
We consider the effect of disorder on coherent tunneling through two barriers in series, in the regime of overlapping transmission resonances. We present analytical calculations (using random-matrix theory) and numerical simulations (on a…
For a wide range of modern soft functional materials the selective transport of sub-nanometer-sized molecules (`penetrants') through a stimuli-responsive polymeric membrane is key to the desired function. In this study, we investigate the…
Inside cells, cargos such as vesicles and organelles are transported by molecular motors to their correct locations via active motion on cytoskeletal tracks and passive, Brownian diffusion. During the transportation of cargos, motor-cargo…
Plasmodium falciparum aquaglyceroporin (PfAQP) is a multifunctional membrane protein in the plasma membrane of P. falciparum, the parasite that causes the most severe form of malaria. The current literature has established the science of…
Bacterial cellulose biofilms are complex networks of strong interwoven nanofibers that control transport and protect bacterial colonies in the film. Design of diverse applications of bacterial cellulose films also relies on understanding…
A flexible membrane deforming its shape in time can self-propel in a viscous fluid. Alternatively, if the membrane is anchored, its deformation will lead to fluid transport. Past work in this area focused on situations where the deformation…
Eukaryotic cells possess motility mechanisms allowing them not only to self-propel but also to exert forces on obstacles (to push) and to carry cargoes (to pull). To study the inherent asymmetry between active pushing and pulling we model a…
We present a particle separation mechanism which induces motion of particles of different sizes in opposite directions. The mechanism is based on the combined action of a driving force and an entropic rectification of the Brownian…