A probabilistic algorithm for optimising the steady-state diffusional flux into a partially absorbing body.

ABSTRACT: Cells in an aqueous environment absorb diffusing nutrient molecules through nanoscale protein channels in their outer membranes. Assuming that there are constraints on the number of such channels a cell can produce, we ask the question: given a nondepleting source of nutrients, what is the optimal distribution of these channels over the cell surface? We coarse-grain this problem, phrasing it as a diffusion problem with position-dependent Robin boundary conditions on the surface. The aim is to maximize the steady-state total flux through the partially absorbing surface under an integral constraint on the local reactivities. We develop an algorithm to tackle this problem that uses the stored and processed results of a particle-based simulation with reflective boundary conditions to a posteri

SUBMITTER: Nicolaou K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10739912 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature