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Autori principali: Andreghetti, Damiano, Dall'Asta, Luca, Gamba, Andrea, Kolokolov, Igor, Lebedev, Vladimir
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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Accesso online:https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.21186
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author Andreghetti, Damiano
Dall'Asta, Luca
Gamba, Andrea
Kolokolov, Igor
Lebedev, Vladimir
author_facet Andreghetti, Damiano
Dall'Asta, Luca
Gamba, Andrea
Kolokolov, Igor
Lebedev, Vladimir
contents Molecular sorting in biological membranes is essential for proper cellular function. It also plays a crucial role in the budding of enveloped viruses from host cells. We recently proposed that this process is driven by phase separation, where the formation and growth of sorting domains depend primarily on direct intermolecular interactions. In addition to these, Casimir-like forces -- arising from entropic effects in fluctuating membranes -- may also play a significant role in the molecular distillation process. Here, using a combination of theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, we explore how Casimir-like forces between rigid membrane inclusions contribute to sorting, particularly in the biologically relevant regime where direct intermolecular interactions are weak. Our results show that these forces enhance molecular distillation by reducing the critical radius for the formation of new sorting domains and facilitating the capture of molecules within these domains. We identify the relative rigidity of the membrane and supermolecular domains as a key parameter controlling molecular sorting efficiency, offering new insights into the physical principles underlying molecular sorting in biological systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2410_21186
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Molecular sorting on a fluctuating membrane
Andreghetti, Damiano
Dall'Asta, Luca
Gamba, Andrea
Kolokolov, Igor
Lebedev, Vladimir
Biological Physics
Molecular sorting in biological membranes is essential for proper cellular function. It also plays a crucial role in the budding of enveloped viruses from host cells. We recently proposed that this process is driven by phase separation, where the formation and growth of sorting domains depend primarily on direct intermolecular interactions. In addition to these, Casimir-like forces -- arising from entropic effects in fluctuating membranes -- may also play a significant role in the molecular distillation process. Here, using a combination of theoretical analysis and numerical simulations, we explore how Casimir-like forces between rigid membrane inclusions contribute to sorting, particularly in the biologically relevant regime where direct intermolecular interactions are weak. Our results show that these forces enhance molecular distillation by reducing the critical radius for the formation of new sorting domains and facilitating the capture of molecules within these domains. We identify the relative rigidity of the membrane and supermolecular domains as a key parameter controlling molecular sorting efficiency, offering new insights into the physical principles underlying molecular sorting in biological systems.
title Molecular sorting on a fluctuating membrane
topic Biological Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2410.21186