INTERNAL DEGREES OF FREEDOM IN A THERMODYNAMICAL MODEL FOR INTRACELL BIOLOGICAL TRANSPORT

The mechanism for intracell transport based on the 1D motion of certai n proteins along the cytoskeleton microtubular fibres, substantiated b y recent experimental biological research, is analysed from the perspe ctive of a non-equilibrium thermodynamical model which incorporates an internal protein degree of freedom. The role of resonances between in ternal and external length scales in the mechanism functioning is succ intly analysed from the perspective of the cell-biological potentialit ies of the model. Copyright (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.