Pseudo-spin model for the microtubule wall in external field.
Microtubules (MTs) in the cytoskeletons of eukaryotic cells provide a wide range of microskeletal and micromuscular functionalities. Some evidence has indicated that they can serve as a medium for intracellular signaling processing. In this paper, for the inherent symmetry structures and the electric properties of tubulin dimers, the microtubule (MT) is treated as a one-dimensional ferroelectric system. The nonlinear dynamics of the dimer electric dipoles is described by virtue of the double-well potential and the physical problem is further mapped onto the pseudo-spin system. In addition, the effect of the external electric field on the MT has been taken into account.
Chen
Ying
Y
Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, PR China. siyuyingying@hotmail.com
Qiu
Xi-Jun
XJ
Dong
Xian-Lin
XL
D019281:Dimerization; D004563:Electrochemistry; D008870:Microtubules / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D049490:Systems Biology; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism*
D014404:Tubulin