RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Durotaxis of passive nanoparticles on elastic membranes
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.04.01.438065
DO 10.1101/2021.04.01.438065
A1 Ivan Palaia
A1 Alexandru Paraschiv
A1 Vincent Debets
A1 Cornelis Storm
A1 Anđela Šarić
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/02/2021.04.01.438065.abstract
AB The transport of macromolecules and nanoscopic particles to a target cellular site is a crucial aspect in many physiological processes. This directional motion is generally controlled via active mechanical and chemical processes. Here we show, by means of molecular dynamics simulations and an analytical theory, that completely passive nanoparticles can exhibit directional motion when embedded in non-uniform mechanical environments. Specifically, we study the motion of a passive nanoparticle adhering to a mechanically non-uniform elastic membrane. We observe a non-monotonic affinity of the particle to the membrane as a function of the membrane’s rigidity, which results in the particle transport. This transport can be both up or down the rigidity gradient, depending on the absolute values of the rigidities that the gradient spans across. We conclude that rigidity gradients can be used to direct average motion of passive macromolecules and nanoparticles on deformable membranes, resulting in the preferential accumulation of the macromolecules in regions of certain mechanical properties.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.