title: Enabling surface dependent diffusion in spatial simulations using Smoldyn.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Spatial computer simulations are becoming more feasible and relevant for studies of signaling pathways due to technical advances in experimental techniques yielding better high resolution data. However, many common single particle simulation environments used in computational systems biology lack the functionality to easily implement spatially heterogeneous membrane environments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We introduce an extension to the single particle simulator Smoldyn that allows modeling of surface-dependent diffusion, without unnecessarily increasing molecular states or numbers, hence avoiding explosion of molecule and reaction definitions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach studying AMPA receptor diffusion at the postsynaptic density and its spatial trapping without introducing hypothetical scaffold elements or membrane barriers.
authors.affiliation: European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK. christine.seeliger@cantab.net.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Seeliger
authors.affiliation: European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Cambridge, CB10 1SD, UK. lenov@babraham.ac.uk.|The Babraham Institute, Babraham Research Campus, Babraham, CB22 3AT, UK. lenov@babraham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Le Novère
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D008954:Models, Biological; D057907:Post-Synaptic Density; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D049490:Systems Biology
chemical_list: D018091:Receptors, AMPA