Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Reconstituting and Characterizing Actin-Microtubule Composites with Tunable Motor-Driven Dynamics and Mechanics
Published on: August 25, 2022
CACPPAF, a COMSOL application to characterize polyelectrolyte properties of actin filaments
Santiago Manrique-Bedoya1, Marcelo Marucho1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Texas at San Antonio, TX 78249, USA.
Abstract:
We present an interactive COMSOL web application that allows both expert and non-expert users to numerically evaluate the electric potential, ionic concentration distribution, velocity profile, and ionic current along a molecular structure surface characterizing actin filaments. This online computational and visualization tool runs on a high performance server (http://marucholab.physics.utsa.edu:2036), that enables users to perform multiple analyses and comparisons without compromising computational resources. As a unique feature, the multiphysics formulation accounts for the filament surface roughness, the finite filament size, and the ionic condensation, providing a deeper understanding of the electrochemical phenomena taking place at the interface between the irregular charged shape of the filament and its biological environment. Overall, the interactive component allows investigators to characterize polyelectrolyte properties of healthy and abnormal actin filaments in physiological and pathological conditions.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Actin Filament Depolymerization
In F-actin, the ADF/cofilin proteins...
Actin Polymerization
The nucleation phase involves forming a stable nucleus consisting of three actin monomers to form a new actin filament. Actin-binding proteins such as formins and Arp2/3 complex help filament growth post-nucleation. The Formins form straight...
Generation of Straight or Branched Actin Filaments
Arp2/3 Complex
Arp2/3 complex is a seven-subunit complex consisting of two proteins similar to actin- Arp2 and Arp3, and five other subunits that help keep Arp2 and Arp3 inactive. When required, the complex is...
Introduction to Actin
Polarity of the Cytoskeleton
Studying the Cytoskeleton

