Related Experiment Videos
Charge effects on phospholipid monolayers in relation to cell motility
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta
|May 28, 1986
Summary
Cellular movement and streaming are driven by the interplay of electrical potential and pH at surfaces. These factors influence interfacial free energy, creating forces necessary for biological processes like phagocytosis.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Phospholipid layers at interfaces are crucial in biological systems.
- Interfacial properties like free energy influence cellular behavior.
- Potential and pH gradients are known to exist in biological environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the dependence of interfacial free energy in phospholipid layers on potential and pH.
- To explore the link between interfacial energy gradients and hydrodynamic fluxes.
- To propose a mechanism for cellular motility and related phenomena.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of interfacial free energy.
- Modeling of Marangoni hydrodynamic convective fluxes.
- Calculation of surface shear stress.
Main Results:
- Interfacial free energy of phospholipid layers is directly influenced by inner potential difference and surface pH.
- Gradients in potential and pH induce Marangoni fluxes at the phospholipid monolayer interface.
- Generated surface shear stress is sufficient to explain cytoplasmic streaming.
Conclusions:
- Coupling of potential, pH, and interfacial Gibbs energy offers a fundamental driving force for cellular motility, phagocytosis, and streaming.
- The findings provide a biophysical basis for understanding active cellular processes driven by interfacial phenomena.