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Biophysical Chemistry Oct 1996Using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy the average translational diffusion coefficients of bile salt-lecithin mixed micelles diffusing in amylopectin...
Using fourier transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy the average translational diffusion coefficients of bile salt-lecithin mixed micelles diffusing in amylopectin gels of varying concentration were measured, on the assumption that the diffusion coefficient was constant during diffusion. This assumption was examined based on quasielastic light scattering (QLS) measurements of the change in the mixed micellar size on dilution. The size increased significantly on dilution with a buffer without the bile salt, whereas the size was almost constant on dilution with a solution of the bile salt in the same buffer. Because bile salt molecules in intermicellar solution (being much smaller) diffuse much faster than the mixed micelles, the mixed micelles in the diffusing front can be treated as if diluted with the bile salt solution. Therefore their size will be constant during diffusion, validating the assumption of a constant diffusion coefficient. Based on this it is possible to show that the micelles diffuse with a diffusion coefficient of approximately 10(-11) m2 s-1, independent (within experimental error) of the amylopectin gel concentration over the range 5%-10% w/w.
Topics: Amylopectin; Bile Acids and Salts; Diffusion; Micelles; Phosphatidylcholines; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
PubMed: 8956485
DOI: 10.1016/s0301-4622(96)02193-x -
International Journal of Molecular... Nov 2023Using the framework of a continuous diffusion model based on the Smoluchowski equation, we analyze particle dynamics in the confinement of a transmembrane nanopore. We... (Review)
Review
Using the framework of a continuous diffusion model based on the Smoluchowski equation, we analyze particle dynamics in the confinement of a transmembrane nanopore. We briefly review existing analytical results to highlight consequences of interactions between the channel nanopore and the translocating particles. These interactions are described within a minimalistic approach by lumping together multiple physical forces acting on the particle in the pore into a one-dimensional potential of mean force. Such radical simplification allows us to obtain transparent analytical results, often in a simple algebraic form. While most of our findings are quite intuitive, some of them may seem unexpected and even surprising at first glance. The focus is on five examples: (i) attractive interactions between the particles and the nanopore create a potential well and thus cause the particles to spend more time in the pore but, nevertheless, increase their net flux; (ii) if the potential well-describing particle-pore interaction occupies only a part of the pore length, the mean translocation time is a non-monotonic function of the well length, first increasing and then decreasing with the length; (iii) when a rectangular potential well occupies the entire nanopore, the mean particle residence time in the pore is independent of the particle diffusivity inside the pore and depends only on its diffusivity in the bulk; (iv) although in the presence of a potential bias applied to the nanopore the "downhill" particle flux is higher than the "uphill" one, the mean translocation times and their distributions are identical, i.e., independent of the translocation direction; and (v) fast spontaneous gating affects nanopore selectivity when its characteristic time is comparable to that of the particle transport through the pore.
Topics: Nanopores; Diffusion
PubMed: 37958906
DOI: 10.3390/ijms242115923 -
Biophysical Journal Sep 2019From observations of colloidal tracer particles in fibrin undergoing gelation, we introduce an analytical framework that allows the determination of the probability...
From observations of colloidal tracer particles in fibrin undergoing gelation, we introduce an analytical framework that allows the determination of the probability density function for a stochastic process beyond fractional Brownian motion. Using passive microrheology via videomicroscopy, mean square displacements of tracer particles suspended in fibrin at different ageing times are obtained. The anomalous diffusion is then described by a damped white noise process with memory, with analytical results closely matching experimental plots of mean square displacements and probability density function. We further show that the white noise functional stochastic approach applied to passive microrheology reveals the existence of a gelation parameter μ which elucidates the dynamics of constrained tracer particles embedded in a time-dependent soft material. In addition, we found that microstructural heterogeneity of particle environments decreases as the ageing time increases. This study offers experimental insights on the ageing of fibrin gels while presenting a white noise functional stochastic approach that could be applied to other systems exhibiting non-Markovian diffusive behavior.
Topics: Diffusion; Fibrin; Gels; Humans; Probability; Time Factors
PubMed: 31495446
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2019.08.014 -
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and... Jul 2023This paper presents a computational model of molecular diffusion through the interfollicular stratum corneum. Specifically, it extends an earlier two-dimensional...
This paper presents a computational model of molecular diffusion through the interfollicular stratum corneum. Specifically, it extends an earlier two-dimensional microscopic model for the permeability in two ways: (1) a microporous leakage pathway through the intercellular lipid lamellae allows slow permeation of highly hydrophilic permeants through the tissue; and (2) the model yields explicit predictions of both lateral (D‾) and transdermal (D‾) effective (average, homogenized) diffusivities of solutes within the tissue. We present here the mathematical framework for the analysis and a comparison of the predictions with experimental data on desorption of both hydrophilic and lipophilic solutes from human stratum corneum in vitro. Diffusion in the lipid lamellae is found to make the effective diffusivity highly anisotropic, with the predicted ratio D‾/D‾ ranging from 34 to 39 for fully hydrated skin and 150 to more than 1000 for partially hydrated skin. The diffusivities and their ratio are in accord with both experimental data and the results of mathematical analyses performed by others.
Topics: Humans; Skin Absorption; Epidermis; Skin; Administration, Cutaneous; Diffusion; Permeability; Lipids
PubMed: 36764498
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2023.01.025 -
Soft Matter Apr 2014Swimming bacteria create long-range velocity fields that stir a large volume of fluid and move around passive particles dispersed in the fluid. Recent experiments and...
Swimming bacteria create long-range velocity fields that stir a large volume of fluid and move around passive particles dispersed in the fluid. Recent experiments and simulations have shown that long-time mean-squared displacement of passive particles in a bath of swimming bacteria exhibits diffusive behaviour with an effective diffusion coefficient significantly larger than its thermal counterpart. A comprehensive theoretical prediction of this effective diffusion coefficient and the understanding of the enhancement mechanism remain a challenge. Here, we adapt the kinetic theory by Lin et al., J. Fluid Mech., 2011, 669, 167 developed for 'squirmers' to the bacterial case to quantitatively predict enhanced diffusivity of tracer particles in dilute two- and three-dimensional suspensions of swimming bacteria. We demonstrate that the effective diffusion coefficient is a product of the bacterial number density, their swimming speed, a geometric factor characterising the velocity field created by a single bacterium, and a numerical factor. We show that the numerical factor is, in fact, a rather strong function of the system parameters, most notably the run length of the bacteria, and that these dependencies have to be taken into account to quantitatively predict the enhanced diffusivity. We perform molecular-dynamics-type simulations to confirm the conclusions of the kinetic theory. Our results are in good agreement with the values of enhanced diffusivity measured in recent two- and three-dimensional experiments.
Topics: Diffusion; Escherichia coli; Kinetics; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Particle Size; Surface Properties; Suspensions
PubMed: 24668266
DOI: 10.1039/c3sm52201f -
Journal of the American Chemical Society Jan 2015The crowded intracellular environment influences the diffusion-mediated cellular processes, such as metabolism, signaling, and transport. The hindered diffusion of...
The crowded intracellular environment influences the diffusion-mediated cellular processes, such as metabolism, signaling, and transport. The hindered diffusion of macromolecules in heterogeneous cytoplasm has been studied over years, but the detailed diffusion distribution and its origin still remain unclear. Here, we introduce a novel method to map rapidly the diffusion distribution in single cells based on single-particle tracking (SPT) of quantum dots (QDs). The diffusion map reveals the heterogeneous intracellular environment and, more importantly, an unreported compartmentalization of QD diffusions in cytoplasm. Simultaneous observations of QD motion and green fluorescent protein-tagged endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dynamics provide direct evidence that the compartmentalization results from micron-scale domains defined by ER tubules, and ER cisternae form perinuclear areas that restrict QDs to enter. The same phenomenon was observed using fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextrans, further confirming the compartmentalized diffusion. These results shed new light on the diffusive movements of macromolecules in the cell, and the mapping of intracellular diffusion distribution may be used to develop strategies for nanoparticle-based drug deliveries and therapeutics.
Topics: Cell Line, Tumor; Diffusion; Endoplasmic Reticulum; Humans; Quantum Dots
PubMed: 25535941
DOI: 10.1021/ja511273c -
Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Feb 2001The apparent diffusion tensor (ADT) was measured in excised and fixed spinal cords from myelin-deficient (md) rats and age-matched controls. These data were used to...
The apparent diffusion tensor (ADT) was measured in excised and fixed spinal cords from myelin-deficient (md) rats and age-matched controls. These data were used to obtain the principal diffusivities of the ADT, and also the scalar invariant parameters _D (averaged principal diffusivity) and A(sigma) (anisotropy index) for four white matter and two gray matter regions. The results for white matter regions showed that the principal diffusivities were significantly higher for md animals, and while the _D was increased in tissue from md animals, the A(sigma) was found to be decreased. Grey matter _D was measured to be between those of white matter from control and md animals, and the A(sigma) was much smaller than that of white matter from both sets of animals, indicating that diffusion in md white matter is more anisotropic than in gray matter. The results show that while myelination is not a prerequisite for diffusion anisotropy, it does influence the magnitude of the observed anisotropy. Magn Reson Med 45:191-195, 2001.
Topics: Animals; Anisotropy; Diffusion; Myelin Sheath; Rats; Rats, Mutant Strains; Spinal Cord
PubMed: 11180424
DOI: 10.1002/1522-2594(200102)45:2<191::aid-mrm1025>3.0.co;2-9 -
Physical Review. E, Statistical,... Oct 2012We study reaction-diffusion processes with concentration-dependent diffusivity. First, the decay of the concentration in the single-species and two-species...
We study reaction-diffusion processes with concentration-dependent diffusivity. First, the decay of the concentration in the single-species and two-species diffusion-controlled annihilation processes is determined. We then consider two natural inhomogeneous realizations. The two-species annihilation process is investigated in the situation when the reactants are initially separated, namely each species occupies a half space. In particular, we establish the growth law of the width of the reaction zone. The single-species annihilation process is studied in the situation when the spatially localized source drives the system toward the nonequilibrium steady state. Finally, we investigate a dissolution process with a localized source of diffusing atoms which react with the initially present immobile atoms forming immobile molecules.
Topics: Algorithms; Biophysics; Computer Simulation; Diffusion; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Models, Chemical; Models, Statistical; Nonlinear Dynamics; Temperature
PubMed: 23214535
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.86.041113 -
NeuroImage Feb 2017Inferring the microstructure of complex media from the diffusive motion of molecules is a challenging problem in diffusion physics. In this paper, we introduce a novel...
Inferring the microstructure of complex media from the diffusive motion of molecules is a challenging problem in diffusion physics. In this paper, we introduce a novel representation of diffusion MRI (dMRI) signal from tissue with spatially-varying diffusivity using a diffusion disturbance function. This disturbance function contains information about the (intra-voxel) spatial fluctuations in diffusivity due to restrictions, hindrances and tissue heterogeneity of the underlying tissue substrate. We derive the short- and long-range disturbance coefficients from this disturbance function to characterize the tissue structure and organization. Moreover, we provide an exact relation between the disturbance coefficients and the time-varying moments of the diffusion propagator, as well as their relation to specific tissue microstructural information such as the intra-axonal volume fraction and the apparent axon radius. The proposed approach is quite general and can model dMRI signal for any type of gradient sequence (rectangular, oscillating, etc.) without using the Gaussian phase approximation. The relevance of the proposed PICASO model is explored using Monte-Carlo simulations and in-vivo dMRI data. The results show that the estimated disturbance coefficients can distinguish different types of microstructural organization of axons.
Topics: Axons; Brain; Brain Mapping; Diffusion; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
PubMed: 27751940
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.057 -
Journal of Contaminant Hydrology Apr 2011Diffusion anisotropy is a critical property in predicting migration of substances in sedimentary formations with very low permeability. The diffusion anisotropy of...
Diffusion anisotropy is a critical property in predicting migration of substances in sedimentary formations with very low permeability. The diffusion anisotropy of sedimentary rocks has been evaluated mainly from laboratory diffusion experiments, in which the directional diffusivities are separately estimated by through-diffusion experiments using different rock samples, or concurrently by in-diffusion experiments in which only the tracer profile in a rock block is measured. To estimate the diffusion anisotropy from a single rock sample, this study proposes an axisymmetric diffusion test, in which tracer diffuses between a cylindrical rock sample and a surrounding solution reservoir. The tracer diffusion between the sample and reservoir can be monitored from the reservoir tracer concentrations, and the tracer profile could also be obtained after dismantling the sample. Semi-analytical solutions are derived for tracer concentrations in both the reservoir and sample, accounting for an anisotropic diffusion tensor of rank two as well as the dilution effects from sampling and replacement of reservoir solution. The transient and steady-state analyses were examined experimentally and numerically for different experimental configurations, but without the need for tracer profiling. These experimental configurations are tested for in- and out-diffusion experiments using Koetoi and Wakkanai mudstones and Shirahama sandstone, and are scrutinized by a numerical approach to identify favorable conditions for parameter estimation. The analysis reveals the difficulty in estimating diffusion anisotropy; test configurations are proposed for enhanced identifiability of diffusion anisotropy. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the axisymmetric diffusion test is efficient in obtaining the sorption parameter from both steady-state and transient data, and in determining the effective diffusion coefficient if isotropic diffusion is assumed. Moreover, measuring reservoir concentrations in an axisymmetric diffusion experiment coupled with tracer profiling may be a promising approach to estimate of diffusion anisotropy of sedimentary rocks.
Topics: Adsorption; Anisotropy; Diffusion; Environmental Pollution; Geologic Sediments; Permeability
PubMed: 21288593
DOI: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2010.12.012