title: Master equation approach to molecular motors.
abstract: A master equation approach to molecular motors allows us to describe a mechanochemical cyclic system where chemical and translational degrees of freedom are treated on an equal footing. A generalized detailed balance condition in the out-of-equilibrium regime is shown to be compatible with the Fokker-Planck equation in the continuum limit. The Onsager reciprocity relations hold for stationary states close to equilibrium, provided the generalized detailed balance condition is satisfied. Semiphenomenological considerations in the case of motor proteins lead to a discrete kinetics model, for which interesting observable quantities may be directly calculated and compared with experimental data.
authors.affiliation: International School for Advanced Studies and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia, Via Beirut 2-4, 34014 Trieste, Italy. lattanzi@sissa.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lattanzi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maritan
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000737:chemistry; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D007700:Kinetics; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D020409:Molecular Motor Proteins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate