Jove
Visualize
Contact Us

Related Experiment Videos

Single-particle tracking: the distribution of diffusion coefficients

M J Saxton1

  • 1Institute of Theoretical Dynamics, University of California, Davis 95616, USA. mjsaxton@ucdavis.edu

Biophysical Journal
|April 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

The distribution of single-trajectory diffusion coefficients reveals cell membrane heterogeneity. Monte Carlo simulations show this width is key for analyzing hindered diffusion models and single-particle tracking data.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Membrane lateral mobility obstructed by polymer-tethered lipids studied at the single molecule level.

Biophysical journal·2004
Same author

Anomalous subdiffusion in fluorescence photobleaching recovery: a Monte Carlo study.

Biophysical journal·2001
Same author

Heat generation and dissipation in plants: can the alternative oxidative phosphorylation pathway serve a thermoregulatory role in plant tissues other than specialized organs?

Plant physiology·1997
Same author

Single-particle tracking: applications to membrane dynamics.

Annual review of biophysics and biomolecular structure·1997
Same author

Anomalous diffusion due to binding: a Monte Carlo study.

Biophysical journal·1996
Same author

Single-particle tracking: effects of corrals.

Biophysical journal·1995
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

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Single-particle tracking (SPT) is crucial for studying molecular dynamics in cell membranes.
  • Measuring the diffusion coefficient (D) from individual particle trajectories provides insights into membrane properties.
  • Heterogeneity in cell membranes can significantly impact molecular diffusion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the statistical distribution of single-trajectory diffusion coefficients obtained from SPT experiments.
  • To assess the utility of the width of this distribution as a measure of membrane heterogeneity.
  • To evaluate the distribution of D for various hindered diffusion models and trajectory lengths.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Monte Carlo calculations to simulate and analyze the statistical distribution of diffusion coefficients.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Examined the impact of different definitions of D on its distribution.
  • Investigated the influence of varying trajectory lengths on the diffusion coefficient distribution.

    • Main Results:

    • The width of the single-trajectory diffusion coefficient distribution can serve as a sensitive indicator of membrane heterogeneity.
    • For certain hindered diffusion models, the theoretical distribution of D is narrower than experimentally observed for membrane proteins.
    • The analysis provides a framework for interpreting SPT data across different conditions.

    Conclusions:

    • The statistical distribution of single-trajectory diffusion coefficients is a valuable tool for characterizing cell membrane properties.
    • Discrepancies between model predictions and experimental distributions highlight the complexity of diffusion in biological membranes.
    • This work aids in the robust analysis of SPT data and the refinement of diffusion models.