Effective simulations of interacting active droplets
Abstract Droplets form a cornerstone of the spatiotemporal organization of biomolecules in cells. These droplets are controlled using physical processes like chemical reactions and imposed gradients, which are costly to simulate using traditional approaches, like solving the Cahn–Hilliard equation....
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27630-3 |
| _version_ | 1797952579410329600 |
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| author | Ajinkya Kulkarni Estefania Vidal-Henriquez David Zwicker |
| author_facet | Ajinkya Kulkarni Estefania Vidal-Henriquez David Zwicker |
| author_sort | Ajinkya Kulkarni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Droplets form a cornerstone of the spatiotemporal organization of biomolecules in cells. These droplets are controlled using physical processes like chemical reactions and imposed gradients, which are costly to simulate using traditional approaches, like solving the Cahn–Hilliard equation. To overcome this challenge, we here present an alternative, efficient method. The main idea is to focus on the relevant degrees of freedom, like droplet positions and sizes. We derive dynamical equations for these quantities using approximate analytical solutions obtained from a sharp interface limit and linearized equations in the bulk phases. We verify our method against fully-resolved simulations and show that it can describe interacting droplets under the influence of chemical reactions and external gradients using only a fraction of the computational costs of traditional methods. Our method can be extended to include other processes in the future and will thus serve as a relevant platform for understanding the dynamics of droplets in cells. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T22:48:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9ec2f70fa274b35a343ace766db9650 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T22:48:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9ec2f70fa274b35a343ace766db96502023-01-15T12:10:55ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-01-0113111010.1038/s41598-023-27630-3Effective simulations of interacting active dropletsAjinkya Kulkarni0Estefania Vidal-Henriquez1David Zwicker2Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-OrganizationMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-OrganizationMax Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-OrganizationAbstract Droplets form a cornerstone of the spatiotemporal organization of biomolecules in cells. These droplets are controlled using physical processes like chemical reactions and imposed gradients, which are costly to simulate using traditional approaches, like solving the Cahn–Hilliard equation. To overcome this challenge, we here present an alternative, efficient method. The main idea is to focus on the relevant degrees of freedom, like droplet positions and sizes. We derive dynamical equations for these quantities using approximate analytical solutions obtained from a sharp interface limit and linearized equations in the bulk phases. We verify our method against fully-resolved simulations and show that it can describe interacting droplets under the influence of chemical reactions and external gradients using only a fraction of the computational costs of traditional methods. Our method can be extended to include other processes in the future and will thus serve as a relevant platform for understanding the dynamics of droplets in cells.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27630-3 |
| spellingShingle | Ajinkya Kulkarni Estefania Vidal-Henriquez David Zwicker Effective simulations of interacting active droplets Scientific Reports |
| title | Effective simulations of interacting active droplets |
| title_full | Effective simulations of interacting active droplets |
| title_fullStr | Effective simulations of interacting active droplets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effective simulations of interacting active droplets |
| title_short | Effective simulations of interacting active droplets |
| title_sort | effective simulations of interacting active droplets |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27630-3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ajinkyakulkarni effectivesimulationsofinteractingactivedroplets AT estefaniavidalhenriquez effectivesimulationsofinteractingactivedroplets AT davidzwicker effectivesimulationsofinteractingactivedroplets |