Anomalous reaction kinetics and domain formation on crowded membranes

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Published 25 March 2011 Europhysics Letters Association
, , Citation M. Hellmann et al 2011 EPL 94 18002 DOI 10.1209/0295-5075/94/18002

0295-5075/94/1/18002

Abstract

Using particle-based simulations, we show that anomalous diffusion in two-dimensional (2D) environments induces a strongly fractal reaction kinetics, i.e. time-dependent rate coefficients. While non-classical kinetics is anticipated already for normal diffusion due to the compactness of Brownian motion in 2D, the effect is even more pronounced when particles move via subdiffusion. As a consequence, strong reactant segregation is observed. Based on these findings, we argue that the experimentally observed subdiffusion of proteins on biomembranes may serve as a means to foster biochemical reactions in well-defined "hot spots" without the need for diffusion barriers.

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