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

5.2K
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...
5.2K
Membrane Domains01:18

Membrane Domains

6.7K
The membrane domains concentrate specific lipids and proteins at one place within the membrane, which helps in cell signaling, adhesion, and other critical cellular processes. These domains can differ in size, composition, function, and lifespan.
Protein Domains
The membrane comprises a group of distinct proteins responsible for carrying out a cell's specific function. For example, the plasma membrane of the human sperm, or a single germ cell, contains a unique set of proteins in the...
6.7K
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation00:59

Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation

3.5K
Different physical properties of lipids and proteins allow them to localize and form distinct islands or domains in the membrane. Some membrane domains are formed due to protein-protein interactions, whereas others are formed due to the presence of specific lipids such as sphingolipids and sterols—for example, large proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin, aggregate and create distinct domains.
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with...
3.5K
Diffusion01:12

Diffusion

213.2K
Diffusion is the passive movement of substances down their concentration gradients—requiring no expenditure of cellular energy. Substances, such as molecules or ions, diffuse from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration in the cytosol or across membranes. Eventually, the concentration will even out, with the substance moving randomly but causing no net change in concentration. Such a state is called dynamic equilibrium, which is essential for maintaining overall...
213.2K
Diffusion01:21

Diffusion

5.9K
Diffusion is a type of passive transport. In passive transport, a substance tends to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until the concentration is equal across the space. For example, take the diffusion of substances through the air. When someone opens a perfume bottle in a room filled with people, the perfume is at its highest concentration in the bottle and is at its lowest at the edges of the room. The perfume vapor will diffuse, or spread away, from the...
5.9K
Membrane Fluidity01:26

Membrane Fluidity

13.8K
Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
13.8K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Nonreciprocal buckling makes active filaments polyfunctional.

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

Surface Mobility of a Glass-Forming Polymer in an Ionic Liquid.

Macromolecules·2026
Same author

Cryo-electron tomography reveals coupled flavivirus replication, budding and maturation.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Hovering of an Actively Driven Fluid-Lubricated Foil.

Physical review letters·2025
Same author

Droplet spreading in a wedge: a route to fluid rheology for power-law liquids.

Soft matter·2025
Same author

Controlling Multiphase Coacervate Wetting and Self-Organization by Interfacial Proteins.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2025
Same journal

Enhanced-Sampling Simulations Reveal Distinct Intermediates in SARS-CoV-2 FSE Pseudoknot Interconversion.

Biophysical journal·2026
Same journal

Structure-based simulations of the full Flock House virus capsid reveal pathways and energetics of an infection-critical peptide externalization event.

Biophysical journal·2026
Same journal

Quantifying the Peripheral Surface Information Entropy from Conformational Ensembles of Globular Protein-Peptide Complexes.

Biophysical journal·2026
Same journal

Anisotropic unbinding and location-dependent hovering of a kinesin motor head over microtubule.

Biophysical journal·2026
Same journal

Kinesin-5/Cut7 C-terminal tail phosphorylation influence on motor regulation through multi-scale molecular modeling.

Biophysical journal·2026
Same journal

Dynamic conformations of fluorophores on self-labeling protein tags.

Biophysical journal·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 24, 2025

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

2.7K

Diffusion on Membrane Domes, Tubes, and Pearling Structures.

Rossana Rojas Molina1, Susanne Liese1, Andreas Carlson1

  • 1Mechanics Division, Department of Mathematics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Biophysical Journal
|December 28, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Membrane shape complexity influences protein diffusion. Neck regions act as barriers, and a quadratic relationship exists between diffusion time and mean membrane curvature.

More Related Videos

Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells
05:56

Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells

Published on: November 12, 2020

3.1K
From Fast Fluorescence Imaging to Molecular Diffusion Law on Live Cell Membranes in a Commercial Microscope
15:10

From Fast Fluorescence Imaging to Molecular Diffusion Law on Live Cell Membranes in a Commercial Microscope

Published on: October 9, 2014

11.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 24, 2025

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

2.7K
Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells
05:56

Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells

Published on: November 12, 2020

3.1K
From Fast Fluorescence Imaging to Molecular Diffusion Law on Live Cell Membranes in a Commercial Microscope
15:10

From Fast Fluorescence Imaging to Molecular Diffusion Law on Live Cell Membranes in a Commercial Microscope

Published on: October 9, 2014

11.7K

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics
  • Membrane dynamics

Background:

  • Protein diffusion is crucial for cell membrane function.
  • Cell membrane shapes are diverse, impacting molecular distribution.
  • Quantifying the relationship between membrane geometry and diffusion is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To numerically solve the diffusion equation on complex membrane shapes.
  • To investigate how membrane morphology affects protein diffusion.
  • To establish a quantitative link between membrane curvature and diffusion timescales.

Main Methods:

  • Numerical solution of the diffusion equation.
  • Modeling of static curved membrane shapes.
  • Analysis of protein distribution and diffusive half-time.

Main Results:

  • Membrane necks act as significant diffusion barriers.
  • A quadratic relationship was found between diffusive half-time and average mean curvature.
  • This relationship was rationalized using a scaling law.

Conclusions:

  • Membrane mean curvature is a key predictor of diffusion timescales.
  • Findings provide a method to estimate diffusion characteristics from membrane geometry.
  • This work aids in understanding protein distribution in complex cellular environments.