Modeling Particle Hydrodynamic Transport in an Idealized Nanoscale Bio-Motor

摘要

The supra-molecular motor, called the nuclear pore complex (NPC), controls the transport of all cellular material between the cytoplasm and the nucleus that occurs naturally in all biological cells. It consists of a large number of spatially organized proteins that, together with soluble transport factors, manage to export, import and exclude proteins with remarkable speed and fidelity. The NPC operates primarily via energy dependent processes, and performs some of the most vital functions required for the survival of a cell. In the presence of appropriate chemical stimuli, the NPC opens or closes, like a gate, and permits the flow of material into and out of the nucleus. The objective of this study is to better understand the hydrodynamic and particle transport characteristics of the NPC in order to potentially apply this highly effective structure to other nanoscale applications. An idealized model of NPC containing the central plug, bottom basket and top cytoplasm rings similar to a model described in the literature will be considered.