The Role of Geometry in the Dynamics of Microtubules Interacting with Catastrophe-Suppressing Drugs

摘要

With the goal of comparing the dynamics of microtubules interacting with catastrophe-suppressing drugs in an in vitro-like vs. an in vivo-like environment, dynamical equations are modified in a confined geometry, where a boundary restricts the growth of the drug interacting microtubules. Steady state solutions in this confined geometry are obtained and compared with a free geometry. The results show that increasing the amount of the drug increases the probability of the distribution of the microtubules in a confined geometry more than in a free geometry. The study is followed by an evaluation of the average time required to find a target for drug interacting microtubules in these two different geometries