Diffusion through Nanopores in Connected Lipid Bilayer Networks

M. Valet , L.L. Pontani , R. Voituriez , E. Wandersman , A. Prevost

Bibtex , URL
Phys. Rev. Lett., 123, 8, 088101
Published 21 Aug. 2019
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.088101

Abstract

A biomimetic model of cell-cell communication was developed to probe the passive molecular transport across ion channels inserted in synthetic lipid bilayers formed between contacting droplets arranged in a linear array. Diffusion of a fluorescent probe across the array was measured for different pore concentrations. The diffusion characteristic timescale is found to vary nonlinearly with the pore concentration. Our measurements are successfully modeled by a continuous time random walk description whose waiting time is the first exit time from a droplet through a cluster of pores. The size of the cluster of pores is found to increase with their concentration. Our results provide a direct link between the mesoscopic permeation properties and the microscopic characteristics of the pores, such as their number, size, and spatial arrangement.

Cette publication est associée à :

Mécanique des systèmes biologiques intégrés et artificiels Dynamique stochastique des systèmes réactifs et vivants