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Simulations on an undamped electromechanical vibration of microtubules in cytosol

Si Li, Chengyuan Wang Orcid Logo, Perumal Nithiarasu Orcid Logo

Applied Physics Letters, Volume: 114, Issue: 25, Start page: 253702

Swansea University Authors: Chengyuan Wang Orcid Logo, Perumal Nithiarasu Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1063/1.5097204

Abstract

This letter aims to study the electromechanical vibration of microtubules submerged in cytosol. The microtubule-cytosol interface is established in molecular dynamics simulations, and the electrically excited vibrations of microtubules in cytosol are studied based on a molecular mechanics model. The...

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Published in: Applied Physics Letters
ISSN: 0003-6951 1077-3118
Published: 2019
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa50887
Abstract: This letter aims to study the electromechanical vibration of microtubules submerged in cytosol. The microtubule-cytosol interface is established in molecular dynamics simulations, and the electrically excited vibrations of microtubules in cytosol are studied based on a molecular mechanics model. The simulations show that the solid-liquid interface with a nanoscale gap significantly reduces the viscous damping of cytosol on microtubule vibration. Specifically, as far as the radial breathing modes are concerned, cytosol behaves nearly as a rigid body and thus has a very small damping effect on the radial breathing mode of microtubules. This distinctive feature of the radial breathing modes arises from its extremely small amplitude (<0.1 Å), and the relatively large gap between microtubules and cytosol (2.5 Å) is due to the van der Waals interaction. Such a nearly undamped megahertz microtubule vibration excited by an electrical magnetic field may play an important role in designing microtubule-based biosensors, developing novel treatments of diseases, and facilitating signal transduction in cells.
Issue: 25
Start Page: 253702

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