Discrete Nanoscale Transport refers to a class of transport phenomena inside cells. The word “nanoscale” refers to the nano-morphological features of the discrete entities being transported and their relevant interactions, whose length scale is from a few to several hundreds nanometers. This distinguishes nanoscale transport from transport of molecular-scale entities such as ions, solutes, metabolites, lipids, proteins, etc.
Transport of nanoscale entities is determined not only by thermal mobility, but also by their interactions with cellular structures (e.g. cytoskeletal filaments), with molecular-scale entities (e.g. motor proteins, signaling molecules), and with other nanoscale entities. In most cases, due to the discrete nature of the transport events and their strong dependence on the local structural and architectural properties of the media, it cannot be described by continuum approaches that are routinely used to describe macroscale transport.
Famous quotes containing the words discrete and/or transport:
“We have good reason to believe that memories of early childhood do not persist in consciousness because of the absence or fragmentary character of language covering this period. Words serve as fixatives for mental images. . . . Even at the end of the second year of life when word tags exist for a number of objects in the child’s life, these words are discrete and do not yet bind together the parts of an experience or organize them in a way that can produce a coherent memory.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“One may disavow and disclaim vices that surprise us, and whereto our passions transport us; but those which by long habits are rooted in a strong and ... powerful will are not subject to contradiction. Repentance is but a denying of our will, and an opposition of our fantasies.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)