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

Cytoplasm01:16

Cytoplasm

88.0K
The cytoplasm consists of organelles and a framework of protein scaffolds called the cytoskeleton suspended in an aqueous solution, the cytosol. The cytosol is a rich broth of water, ions, salts, and various organic molecules.
Protein Folding and Misfolding
The cytoplasm is the location for several cellular processes, including protein synthesis and folding. The aqueous nature of the cytosol promotes protein folding such that the hydrophobic amino acid side chains are buried in the protein...
88.0K
Cytoplasm01:24

Cytoplasm

8.1K
The cytoplasm consists of organelles and a framework of protein scaffolds called the cytoskeleton suspended in an aqueous solution, the cytosol. The cytosol is a rich broth of water, ions, salts, and various organic molecules.
Protein Folding and Misfolding
The cytoplasm is the location for several cellular processes, including protein synthesis and folding. The aqueous nature of the cytosol promotes protein folding such that the hydrophobic amino acid side chains are buried in the protein...
8.1K
Diffusion01:12

Diffusion

217.1K
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...
217.1K
Diffusion01:21

Diffusion

6.3K
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...
6.3K
Forces Acting on Chromosomes02:11

Forces Acting on Chromosomes

3.9K
During mitosis, chromosome movements occur through the interplay of multiple piconewton level forces. In prometaphase, these forces help in chromosome assembly or congression at the equatorial plane, eventually leading to their alignment at the metaphase plate. The forces acting on the chromosomes are space and time-dependent; therefore, they vary with the position of the chromosomes as the cell progresses through mitosis. 
Microtubules and motor proteins exert two types of forces on...
3.9K
ATP and Macromolecule Synthesis01:28

ATP and Macromolecule Synthesis

6.9K
Biological macromolecules are organic compounds, predominantly composed of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms are covalently bonded with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and other minor elements. There are four major biological macromolecule classes: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
Most macromolecules are composed of single subunits, or building blocks, called monomers. The monomers combine with each other using covalent bonds to form larger molecules known as polymers.
Conversion of...
6.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Fibronectin matrix remodelling modulates the active nematic dynamics of cancer-associated fibroblasts.

Nature materials·2026
Same author

Adhesion-mediated force transmission regulates cell competition in epithelia.

Comptes rendus biologies·2026
Same author

Dynamic heterogeneity and hidden fluidity in dense epithelial tissues.

Science advances·2026
Same author

Reply to Dey and Schreiber: Porous media framework of intracellular diffusion is not limited to inert molecules.

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

Actomyosin-dependent assembly of the mechanosensitive machinery from adherens junctions triggers actin polymerization and organization.

Science advances·2026
Same author

Regulation of epithelial tissue homeostasis by active transepithelial transport.

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: Jan 25, 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

2.9K

Cytoplasmic crowding acts as a porous medium reducing macromolecule diffusion.

Olivier Destrian1,2, Nicolas Moisan2, René-Marc Mège2

  • 1Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CentraleSupélec, Laboratoire d'Energétique Moleculaire et Macroscopique, Combustion (EM2C), Gif-sur-Yvette 91190, France.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|January 23, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Cellular crowding significantly impacts macromolecule diffusion. Our study reveals that the local obstacle density, not specific regions, dictates intracellular transport, offering insights into cellular dynamics.

Keywords:
FRAPcrowdingcytoplasmic diffusionosmotic shocksporous media

More Related Videos

In Situ Monitoring of Diffusion of Guest Molecules in Porous Media Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging
06:34

In Situ Monitoring of Diffusion of Guest Molecules in Porous Media Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging

Published on: September 2, 2016

6.8K
In Vitro Model of Human Cutaneous Hypertrophic Scarring using Macromolecular Crowding
08:20

In Vitro Model of Human Cutaneous Hypertrophic Scarring using Macromolecular Crowding

Published on: May 1, 2020

7.1K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 25, 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

2.9K
In Situ Monitoring of Diffusion of Guest Molecules in Porous Media Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging
06:34

In Situ Monitoring of Diffusion of Guest Molecules in Porous Media Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Imaging

Published on: September 2, 2016

6.8K
In Vitro Model of Human Cutaneous Hypertrophic Scarring using Macromolecular Crowding
08:20

In Vitro Model of Human Cutaneous Hypertrophic Scarring using Macromolecular Crowding

Published on: May 1, 2020

7.1K

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Intracellular transport of macromolecules is vital for cellular functions.
  • Cytoplasmic crowding is known to affect macromolecule mobility, but the physical mechanisms are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how cytoplasmic crowding and structures modulate macromolecule diffusion.
  • To develop and validate a model for predicting intracellular diffusion.

Main Methods:

  • Live-cell experiments using confocal microscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.
  • Development of a multiscale model treating the cytoplasm as a hierarchical porous medium.
  • Numerical simulations to predict diffusion coefficients under varying conditions.

Main Results:

  • Found an inverse correlation between free-green fluorescent protein diffusivity and heterogeneous cytoplasmic structure abundance.
  • Identified tortuous and porous hydrodynamic hindrances as key mechanisms reducing diffusion.
  • Demonstrated that diffusivity depends on local obstacle volume fraction, not specific cellular regions.
  • Model accurately predicted larger macromolecule diffusivity across different cell lines.

Conclusions:

  • Porous media modeling effectively predicts intracellular transport in complex cellular environments.
  • Hydrodynamic interactions between molecules and nanometric obstacles are crucial for diffusion.
  • Understanding diffusion mechanisms is important for processes like cell motility, blebbing, and apoptosis.