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Updated: May 28, 2026

Quantifying Spatiotemporal Parameters of Cellular Exocytosis in Micropatterned Cells
Published on: September 16, 2020
Hydrodynamic flow in a synaptic cleft during exocytosis
M N Shneider1, R S Gimatdinov, A I Skorinkin
1Applied Physics Group, MAE Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA. shneyder@princeton.edu
Abstract:
It is shown that exocytosis in a chemical synapse may be accompanied by "microjet" formation due to the overpressure that exists in the vesicles. This mechanism may take place either at complete fusion of a vesicle with the presynaptic membrane or in the so-called kiss-and-run mode of neurotransmitter release. A simple hydrodynamic model of the viscous incompressible flow arising in the synaptic cleft is suggested. The occurrence of hydrodynamic flow (microjet) leads to more efficient transport of neurotransmitter than in the case of classical diffusive transport.
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