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Preparation of Segmented Microtubules to Study Motions Driven by the Disassembling Microtubule Ends
Published on: March 15, 2014
Microtubules as mechanical force sensors.
Ioannis G Karafyllidis1, Dimitris C Lagoudas
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, GR-671 00 Xanthi, Greece. ykar@ee.duth.gr
Bio Systems
|June 30, 2006
Summary
Microtubules can act as mechanical force sensors by altering their charge distribution in response to applied forces. This study models microtubules using quantum random walks to detect force direction and magnitude.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cell Biology
- Quantum Mechanics
Background:
- Microtubules are polymers of tubulin dimers forming a hexagonal lattice.
- Tubulin dimers possess mobile charges, acting as electrical dipoles influenced by neighboring charges and mechanical forces.
- Mechanical forces alter inter-dimer distances, affecting electrostatic potential and charge distribution within microtubules.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of microtubules as mechanical force sensors.
- To model the relationship between mechanical forces and microtubule charge distribution.
- To explore the use of quantum computation principles for sensing applications.
Main Methods:
- Modeling tubulin dimers as two-state quantum systems.
- Employing discrete quantum random walks on the microtubule lattice to simulate charge distribution.
- Representing applied forces as coin biases in the quantum random walk model.
Main Results:
- Simulations indicate a strong correlation between mechanical forces and microtubule charge distribution.
- The quantum random walk model successfully links force application to distinct charge distributions.
- The model demonstrates the potential for detecting force direction and magnitude.
Conclusions:
- Microtubules exhibit properties suitable for use as sensitive mechanical force sensors.
- Quantum random walk simulations provide a viable method for analyzing force-induced charge changes.
- This research opens avenues for novel biosensing applications leveraging microtubule mechanics.
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