Electrophoresis and Electroosmosis in the Intracellular Transport of Macromolecules
Electric fields are present in biological systems at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Electroosmotic flow results from the action of electric field on the electrical double layer, formed at the fluid/solid or fluid/membrane interface and characterized by its zeta-potential. For the physiological value of zeta-potential (50 mV) and a single charged protein of average size, electroosmotic mobilty is 10 times faster than electrophoretic one.
The role of electroosmosis in the transport of messenger protein molecules from the cellular membrane to the nucleus in a polarized cell is simulated by using COMSOL. The amount of protein molecules that reached the nucleus by t=1s is 3-fold higher in the presence of electroosmosis, than if only electrophoresis and diffusion are present.
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