Apparent 2-D diffusivity in a ruffled cell membrane.
Most biological cell membranes have a microtopology that increases their surface area, including a highly ruffled surface in the case of leukocytes. Thus, molecular membrane diffusivities as measured by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching or other methods are decreased when projected onto a plane. We use a two-dimensional crested cycloid as a parameterized surface to simulate the random-walk diffusion of a molecule within a ruffled membrane. The apparent 2-D diffusivity was then calculated when the ruffled membrane is projected onto a plane. It is shown that the apparent diffusivity decreases as a function of the membrane area, to the -1.4 power.
King
Michael R
MR
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 639, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. mike_king@urmc.rochester.edu
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004058:Diffusion; D008954:Models, Biological