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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

Generating Controlled, Dynamic Chemical Landscapes to Study Microbial Behavior

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Published on: January 31, 2020

Emergent Nonlinearity in Active Molecular Chemotaxis.

Xiaotian Lu¹, Ayusman Sen^1,2, R Dean Astumian³

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, State College, Pennsylvania 16802, United States.

|May 13, 2026

Summary

Enzyme molecules actively reshape chemical gradients, leading to nonlinear chemotaxis at the nanoscale. This active molecular motion differs from microscale systems and offers design principles for autonomous molecular machines.

Keywords:

active matter chemotactic velocity enzyme chemotaxis kinetic asymmetry nonequilibrium steady state

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Imaging G Protein-coupled Receptor-mediated Chemotaxis and its Signaling Events in Neutrophil-like HL60 Cells

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Published on: September 14, 2016

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Chemical Physics
Molecular Biology

Background:

Molecular chemotaxis is difficult to understand due to enzymes' small size.
Existing models often ignore how enzymes alter chemical gradients via catalysis.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate active molecular chemotaxis principles.
Explore enzyme self-shaping of chemical gradients.
Understand nonlinear responses in enzyme motion.

Main Methods:

Developed a Fokker-Planck model for an ATP-driven kinase-phosphatase system.
Simulated enzyme concentrations in the nanomolar range.
Analyzed enzyme spatial distribution, conformational states, and catalytic reactions.

Main Results:

Enzyme chemotactic velocity shows nonlinear responses to chemical gradients.
Velocity profiles transition between monotonic and nonmonotonic regimes based on substrate availability.
High catalyst concentrations amplify enzyme interactions, enabling collective assemblies like metabolons.

Conclusions:

Molecular chemotaxis is fundamentally different from microscale systems.
Energy, gradients, and enzyme states critically influence molecular motion.
Provides a framework for designing active autonomous molecular systems.