Physics – Condensed Matter – Soft Condensed Matter
Scientific paper
2004-12-17
Physics
Condensed Matter
Soft Condensed Matter
To appear in J. Theor. Biol
Scientific paper
We show that active transport processes in biological systems can be understood through a local equilibrium description formulated at the mesoscale, the scale to describe stochastic processes. This new approach uses the method established by nonequilibrium thermodynamics to account for the irreversible processes occurring at this scale and provides nonlinear kinetic equations for the rates in terms of the driving forces. The results show that the application domain of nonequilibrium thermodynamics method to biological systems goes beyond the linear domain. A model for transport of Ca$^{2+}$ by the Ca$^{2+}$-ATPase, coupled to the hydrolysis of adenosine-triphosphate is analyzed in detail showing that it depends on the reaction Gibbs energy in a non-linear way. Our results unify thermodynamic and kinetic descriptions, thereby opening new perspectives in the study of different transport phenomena in biological systems.
Bedeaux Dick
Kjelstrup Signe
Rubi Miguel J.
No associations
LandOfFree
Active transport: A kinetic description based on thermodynamic grounds does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Active transport: A kinetic description based on thermodynamic grounds, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Active transport: A kinetic description based on thermodynamic grounds will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-332405