Vector Field Formalism and Analysis for a Class of Thermal Ratchets
- 12 October 1998
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 81 (15), 3063-3066
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.81.3063
Abstract
To understand the physics of muscle contraction and molecular motor movement, we develop a model for nonequilibrium free energy transduction based on a diffusion in a periodic force field. It is shown that a nonconservative force is sufficient and necessary for a steady state with circular flux, but is not sufficient for a global unidirectional transport synonymous to motor protein movement. A vector potential for the flux is introduced for characterizing the circular flux and global transport. The model provides a natural distinction between the two types of muscle protein movement, namely the mechanical dominant “power-stroke” and the Brownian-motion dominant ratchet.Keywords
This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- A simple theory of motor protein kinetics and energeticsBiophysical Chemistry, 1997
- The Movement of Kinesin Along MicrotubulesAnnual Review of Physiology, 1996
- Fluctuation driven ratchets: Molecular motorsPhysical Review Letters, 1994
- Nano-manipulation of actomyosin molecular motors in vitro: a new working principleTrends in Biochemical Sciences, 1993
- Electroconformational Coupling: How Membrane-Bound ATPase Transduces Energy from Dynamic Electric FieldsAnnual Review of Physiology, 1988
- Asymmetry and external noise-induced free energy transduction.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1987
- Stochastic free energy transduction.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1985
- Transient kinetics of chemical reactions with bounded diffusion perpendicular to the reaction coordinate: Intramolecular processes with slow conformational changesThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 1983
- Theoretical formalism for the sliding filament model of contraction of striated muscle Part IProgress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 1974
- The Feynman Lectures on PhysicsPhysics Today, 1964