A continuum description for diffusion in a simple model for an inhomogeneous but isotropic media is derived and implemented numerically. The locally averaged density of diffusible marker is input from experiment to define the sample. Then a single additional parameter, the effective diffusion constant, permits the quantitative simulation of diffusive relaxation from any initial condition. Using this simulation, it is possible to model the recovery of a fluorescently tagged protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) after photobleaching a substantial region of a live cell, and fit an effective diffusion constant which is a property both of the geometry of the ER and the marker. Such quantitative measurements permit inferences about the topology and internal organization of this organelle.
CITATION STYLE
Siggia, E. D., Lippincott-Schwartz, J., & Bekiranov, S. (2000). Diffusion in inhomogeneous media: Theory and simulations applied to whole cell photobleach recovery. Biophysical Journal, 79(4), 1761–1770. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3495(00)76428-9
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