Near-critical fluctuations and cytoskeleton-assisted phase separation lead to subdiffusion in cell membranes

Jens Ehrig; Eugene P. Petrov; Petra Schwille

doi:10.1016/j.bpj.2010.11.002

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arXiv · 1010.1207

Near-critical fluctuations and cytoskeleton-assisted phase separation lead to subdiffusion in cell membranes

Jens Ehrig·Eugene P. Petrov·Petra Schwille

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Abstract

We address the relationship between membrane microheterogeneity and anomalous subdiffusion in cell membranes by carrying out Monte Carlo simulations of two-component lipid membranes. We find that near-critical fluctuations in the membrane lead to transient subdiffusion, while membrane-cytoskeleton interaction strongly affects phase separation, enhances subdiffusion, and eventually leads to hop diffusion of lipids. Thus, we present a minimum realistic model for membrane rafts showing the features of both microscopic phase separation and subdiffusion.

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Jens Ehrig, Eugene P. Petrov, Petra Schwille. 2010-11-23. Near-critical fluctuations and cytoskeleton-assisted phase separation lead to subdiffusion in cell membranes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2010.11.002

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