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Diffusion-Driven Aggregation Of Particles In Quasi-2d Membranes, Oscar Gullickson Rausis

Physics

Many biological membranes can be modeled as two-dimensional (2D) viscous fluid sheets surrounded by three-dimensional (3D) fluids of different viscosity. Such membranes are dubbed quasi-2D as they exhibit properties of both 2D and 3D fluids. The Saffman length is a parameter that describes the energy exchange between the membrane and bulk fluids and controls the cross-over from 2D to 3D hydrodynamics. We aim to model diffusion-driven aggregation of particles embedded in a quasi-2D membrane. It is known that hydrodynamic interactions between solute particles significantly reduce their aggregation rate in 3D fluids. It is expected that in quasi-2D membranes the reduction …