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A New Poisson–Nernst–Planck Model with Ion–Water Interactions for Charge Transport in Ion Channels

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Abstract

In this work, we propose a new Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) model with ion–water interactions for biological charge transport in ion channels. Due to narrow geometries of these membrane proteins, ion–water interaction is critical for both dielectric property of water molecules in channel pore and transport dynamics of mobile ions. We model the ion–water interaction energy based on realistic experimental observations in an efficient mean-field approach. Variation of a total energy functional of the biological system yields a new PNP-type continuum model. Numerical simulations show that the proposed model with ion–water interaction energy has the new features that quantitatively describe dielectric properties of water molecules in narrow pores and are possible to model the selectivity of some ion channels.

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Acknowledgments

This work is funded by the Faculty Research Grant 2015–2017 provided by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Duan Chen

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  1. Duan Chen
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Correspondence to Duan Chen.

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Chen, D. A New Poisson–Nernst–Planck Model with Ion–Water Interactions for Charge Transport in Ion Channels. Bull Math Biol 78, 1703–1726 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11538-016-0196-7

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