Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

6.2K
Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion experiment where mouse and human cells were fused, resulting in hybrid cells. When the human and mouse cells fused, the specific membrane proteins on human and mouse cells were marked with the red and green-fluorescent markers, respectively. Initially, the red and green fluorescence was located on the respective hemisphere of the cell. As time...
6.2K
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration01:32

Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration

5.7K
A migrating cell changes its shape during the cyclic events of attachment and detachment from the substratum and repositions the cell organelles correspondingly. These complex events are orchestrated by the dynamic cytoskeletal network comprising actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Cytoskeletal crosstalk — the direct and indirect communication between the different components — is crucial for this coordination. Direct communication involves various linker...
5.7K
Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation01:31

Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation

4.0K
Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...
4.0K
Microtubule Instability02:17

Microtubule Instability

6.4K
Microtubules are hollow cylindrical filaments having a diameter of approximately 25 nm and a length that varies from 200 nm to 25 μm. GTP-bound tubulin subunits form αβ-heterodimers for microtubule assembly. These core building blocks interact longitudinally, polymerizing into protofilaments. The protofilaments then interact with one another through lateral bonding forces to form stable cylindrical microtubules. These cylindrical filaments are dynamic as they undergo repeated...
6.4K
Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility01:13

Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility

7.2K
Actin is a family of globular proteins that are highly abundant in eukaryotic cells. It makes up approximately 1-5% of total cell protein concentration. Actin monomers polymerize to form a complex network of polarized filaments, the actin cytoskeleton, that plays a crucial role in many cellular processes, including cell motility, division, endocytosis, and metastasis of cancer cells.
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics can produce pushing, pulling, and resistance forces that help the cell to migrate....
7.2K
Assembly of Cytoskeletal Filaments01:18

Assembly of Cytoskeletal Filaments

28.4K
Cytoskeletal filaments are polymeric forms of smaller protein subunits. However, individual cytoskeletal filaments may easily disassemble or associate with other similar filaments to form rigid structures. Microfilaments, made of actin monomers, rely on actin-binding proteins to form bundles and create networks of individual actin filaments. Microtubules rely on microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) to form sturdy cylindrical structures. However, the proteins involved in forming complex...
28.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

MDNA : a software module for DNA structure generation and analysis.

Nucleic acids research·2026
Same author

Nucleation of NaCl crystals from solution: Rate prediction and influence of noisy order parameters on the committor.

The Journal of chemical physics·2026
Same author

Understanding Mechanisms of Molecular Rare Events from Start to Finish.

Physical review letters·2026
Same author

Combining multiple interface set path ensembles with MBAR reweighting.

The Journal of chemical physics·2026
Same author

Cooperative Ligand-Mediated Transitions in Simple Macromolecules.

The journal of physical chemistry. B·2025
Same author

Optimal kinetics for catalytic cycles from a single path-sampling simulation.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same journal

In This Issue.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Long-term cultural continuity across the Neanderthal-modern human sequence at Üçağızlı II Cave, northern Levant.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Dolphins use names to remember whom to avoid.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Retraction for Shaked and Frenkel, Curiouser and curiouser: Meningeal lymphoid structures in the aging brain.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Small but mighty: The outsized role of small water bodies in the global carbon cycle.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same journal

Functional traits produce conditional outcomes in different community contexts.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
10:43

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

Published on: July 19, 2022

3.0K

Rotational diffusion affects the dynamical self-assembly pathways of patchy particles.

Arthur C Newton1, Jan Groenewold2, Willem K Kegel2

  • 1Amsterdam Center for Multiscale Modeling, van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GD Amsterdam, The Netherlands;

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 2, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Altering particle rotational diffusion independently from translational diffusion significantly impacts self-assembly dynamics. This finding offers a design principle for controlling nanoparticle self-assembly and avoiding kinetic traps.

Keywords:
colloidsglobular proteinskinetic networkstransition path sampling

More Related Videos

Origami Inspired Self-assembly of Patterned and Reconfigurable Particles
12:33

Origami Inspired Self-assembly of Patterned and Reconfigurable Particles

Published on: February 4, 2013

22.3K
Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
06:55

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

8.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
10:43

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

Published on: July 19, 2022

3.0K
Origami Inspired Self-assembly of Patterned and Reconfigurable Particles
12:33

Origami Inspired Self-assembly of Patterned and Reconfigurable Particles

Published on: February 4, 2013

22.3K
Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
06:55

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

8.6K

Area of Science:

  • Colloid and materials science
  • Biophysics
  • Chemical physics

Background:

  • Self-assembly of anisotropic particles (e.g., patchy colloids, proteins) is crucial for materials design and understanding biological systems.
  • Particle diffusion, both rotational and translational, governs self-assembly kinetics, but their relationship can be decoupled by factors like molecular crowding.
  • Kinetic trapping in undesired structures hinders efficient self-assembly, complicating direct simulation approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how independent variations in rotational diffusion relative to translational diffusion affect the self-assembly kinetics of patchy particle systems.
  • To explore the influence of altered diffusion dynamics on kinetic pathways and the formation of target structures.
  • To identify design principles for controlling nanoparticle self-assembly processes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized advanced path-sampling techniques to analyze the complete self-assembly kinetic network of simple patchy particle systems.
  • Systematically varied rotational diffusion coefficients independently of translational diffusion.
  • Simulated and analyzed the dynamical pathways and equilibrium constants of the self-assembly process.

Main Results:

  • Changing rotational diffusion did not alter equilibrium constants but significantly modified dynamical pathways.
  • Enhanced self-assembly relaxation processes and increased target structure yield by enabling avoidance of frustrated states.
  • Suppressed self-assembly and yield when particles encountered frustrated states due to altered diffusion.

Conclusions:

  • Independent control over rotational diffusion offers a powerful mechanism to guide nanoparticle self-assembly pathways.
  • This approach provides a practical design principle for optimizing the yield and efficiency of self-assembled nanostructures.
  • Findings are relevant for both synthetic materials design and understanding biological self-assembly in crowded environments.