D G Luchinsky et al J. Stat. Mech. (2009) P01010 doi:10.1088/1742-5468/2009/01/P01010
D G Luchinsky1,2, R Tindjong1, I Kaufman3, P V E McClintock1 and R S Eisenberg4
Show affiliationsPart of Focus on Unsolved Problems of Noise in Physics, Biology and Technology
The effect of fluctuations on the conductivity of ion channels is investigated. It is shown that modulation of the potential barrier at the selectivity site due to electrostatic amplification of charge fluctuations at the channel mouth exerts a leading-order effect on the channel conductivity. A Brownian dynamical model of ion motion in a channel is derived that takes into account both fluctuations at the channel mouth and vibrational modes of the wall. The charge fluctuations are modeled as a shot noise flipping the height of the potential barrier. The wall fluctuations are introduced as a slow vibrational mode of the protein motion that modulates ion conductance both stochastically and periodically. The model is used to estimate the contribution to the conductivity of ion channels coming from the electrostatic amplification of charge fluctuations.
E-print Number: 0807.0838
Cited: by |
Refers: to
87.16.Uv Active transport processes
87.19.R- Mechanical and electrical properties of tissues and organs
60J65 Brownian motion (See also 58J65)
82C31 Stochastic methods (Fokker-Planck, Langevin, etc.) (See also 60H10)
Issue 01 (January 2009)
Received 7 July 2008, accepted for publication 21 August 2008
Published 5 January 2009
D G Luchinsky et al J. Stat. Mech. (2009) P01010
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