title: The role of aqueous interfaces in the cell.
abstract: The cell is rich with biopolymeric surfaces. Yet, the role of these surfaces and attendant surface-water interfaces has received little attention among biologists, most of whom consider water as a neutral carrier. This review aims to begin bridging the gap between biology and interface science-to show that a surface-oriented approach has power to bring fresh insights into an otherwise impenetrably complex maze. In this approach the cell is treated as a polymer gel. If the cell is a gel, then a logical approach to the understanding of cell function is through an understanding of gel function. Great strides have been made recently in understanding the principles of polymer-gel dynamics, and particularly the role of the polymer-water interface. It has become clear that a central mechanism in biology is the phase-transition-a major structural change prompted by a subtle change of environment. Phase-transitions are capable of doing work and such work could be responsible for much of the work of the cell. Here, we pursue this approach. We set up a polymer-gel-based foundation for cell behavior, and explore the extent to which this foundation explains how the cell achieves its everyday tasks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering 357962, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ghp@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Gerald H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Pollack
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D002412:Cations; D004058:Diffusion; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology*; D011108:Polymers; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D011108:Polymers