Book

Boal, David H.

Mechanics of the cell / David H. Boal.

Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2002.

xiv, 406 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

A textbook for a one-semester course for senior undergraduates and beginning graduates with an interest in biophysics. Appendices summarize background material in physics and in biology for students coming from the other direction. The focus is on equilibrium properties of cells, with little discussion of their dynamics.

Cells -- Mechanical properties.

Physical biochemistry.

Cell physiology.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 387-399) and index.

Introduction to the cell -- Designs for a cell -- Cell shapes, sizes and structures -- Soft strings and sheets -- Rods and ropes -- Polymers -- Filaments in the cell -- Flexible rods -- Sizes of polymer chains -- Chain configurations and elasticity -- Elasticity of cellular filaments -- Two-dimensional networks -- Soft networks in the cell -- Elastic moduli in two dimensions -- Spring networks with six-fold coordination -- Spring networks with four-fold coordination -- Membrane-associated networks -- Three-dimensional networks -- Networks of biological rods and ropes -- Elastic moduli in three dimensions -- Entropic networks -- Semiflexible polymer solutions -- Rheology of cytoskeletal components -- Membranes -- Biomembranes -- Composition of biomembranes -- Self-assembly of amphiphiles -- Bilayer compression resistance -- Bilayer bending resistance -- Edge energy -- Membrane undulations -- Thermal fluctuations in membrane shape -- Surface curvature -- Membrane bending and persistence length -- Scaling of polymers and membranes -- Measurement of membrane undulations -- The whole cell -- The simplest cells -- Cell shapes -- Energetics of thin shells -- Pure bilayer systems -- Vesicles and red blood cells -- Simple bacteria -- Intermembrane forces -- Interactions between membranes -- Charged plate in an electrolyte -- van der Waals and electrostatic interactions -- Entropic repulsion of sheets and polymers -- Adhesion -- Dynamic filaments -- Movement in the cell -- Polymerization of actin and tubulin -- Molecular motors.

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2001028709

0521792584

9780521792585

0521796814

9780521796811

46685371

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571.6 Boal