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Brownian Dynamics: Simulation for Ion Channel Permeation1

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Biological Membrane Ion Channels

Part of the book series: Biological And Medical Physics Biomedical Engineering ((BIOMEDICAL))

Abstract

All living cells are surrounded by a thin membrane, composed of two layers of phospholipid molecules, called the lipid bilayer. This thin membrane effectively confines some ions and molecules inside and exchanges others with outside and acts as a hydrophobic, low dielectric barrier to hydrophilic molecules. Because of a large difference between the dielectric constants of the membrane and electrolyte solutions, no charged particles, such as Na+, K+, and Cl− ions, can jump across the membrane. The amount of energy needed to transport one monovalent ion, in either direction across the membrane, known as the Born energy, is enormously high. For a living cell to function, however, the proper ionic gradient has to be maintained, and ions at times must move across the membrane to maintain the potential difference across the membrane and to generate synaptic and action potentials. The delicate tasks of regulating the transport of ions across the membrane are carried out by biological nanotubes called “ion channels,” water-filled conduits inserted across the cell membrane through which ions can freely move in and out when the gates are open. These ion channels can be viewed as biological sub-nanotubes, the typical pore diameters of which are ~10−9 m or 10 Å.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Act, Australia

    Shin-Ho Chung

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4

    Vikram Krishnamurthy

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  1. Shin-Ho Chung
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  2. Vikram Krishnamurthy
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Res. School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia

    Shin-Ho Chung

  2. Weill Medical College Dept. Physiology, Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Olaf S. Andersen

  3. Dept. of Elect. & Comp. Engi., University of British Columbia, MacLeod Bulding, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Vikram Krishnamurthy

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Chung, SH., Krishnamurthy, V. (2007). Brownian Dynamics: Simulation for Ion Channel Permeation1 . In: Chung, SH., Andersen, O.S., Krishnamurthy, V. (eds) Biological Membrane Ion Channels. Biological And Medical Physics Biomedical Engineering. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-68919-2_15

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