UAH > Math > Colloquia > 4/21/2006
Molecular motors are proteins that transduce chemical energy into directed mechanical motion, and therefore have the function of transporting material within a cell. Nanoscale motors like kinesins tow organelles and other cargo on microtubules or .laments. We study some mathematical models of this process based on diffusion, transport, and conformational change factors which couple the components of the system. The models are linear reaction-diffusion type systems, with an additional transport term as in the Fokker-Planck equation. Various types of boundary conditions have been proposed. We discuss mathematical analysis of some models, including existence, stability, and characterization of the parameters in the system which will lead to transport.