Generalized theory of the kinetics of tracers in biological systems

Abstract

Most theoretical analyses of tracer kinetics in capillaries contain an implicit assumption that the tissues to which they are connected have homogeneous material properties. The microscopic description of the exchange of tracer molecules and tissues is then modeled in terms of first-order kinetics. We consider a class of more general models allowing us to assess the robustness of simplifying assumptions made above. It is shown that when amorphous properties are important the kinetics of the system may differ considerably from those predicted by standard theories.