{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/140105"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/140105","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"First-passage time analysis of particle transport in the cytoplasm","abstract":"Cell mechanics are often probed by tracking fluorescent tracer particles embedded in the cytoplasm. The analysis of such experiments typically involves computation of the mean-square displacement of the particles, and thus ignores the variation in how individual particles are transported by activity within the cell. Here, first-passage time (FPT) analysis is presented as an alternate measure that can better represent the diversity of particle behavior. FPT analysis reveals that the diffusive-like motion of tracer particles can not be accurately modeled as random-walk diffusion due to inhomogeneity of particle transport rates. The technique is then used to investigate the effect of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) on cytoplasmic transport. We find that VIFs significantly inhibit the displacement of objects in the cytoplasm.","abstract_html":"Cell mechanics are often probed by tracking fluorescent tracer particles embedded in the cytoplasm. The analysis of such experiments typically involves computation of the mean-square displacement of the particles, and thus ignores the variation in how individual particles are transported by activity within the cell. Here, first-passage time (FPT) analysis is presented as an alternate measure that can better represent the diversity of particle behavior. FPT analysis reveals that the diffusive-like motion of tracer particles can not be accurately modeled as random-walk diffusion due to inhomogeneity of particle transport rates. The technique is then used to investigate the effect of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) on cytoplasmic transport. We find that VIFs significantly inhibit the displacement of objects in the cytoplasm.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dhaliwal, Vira"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":"Master","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Guo, Ming"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-09","date_published":"2021-09","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:26Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/140105","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Guo, Ming"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dhaliwal, Vira"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2022-02-07T15:24:20Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-02-07T15:24:20Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-09"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master","Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/140105"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Cell mechanics are often probed by tracking fluorescent tracer particles embedded in the cytoplasm. The analysis of such experiments typically involves computation of the mean-square displacement of the particles, and thus ignores the variation in how individual particles are transported by activity within the cell. Here, first-passage time (FPT) analysis is presented as an alternate measure that can better represent the diversity of particle behavior. FPT analysis reveals that the diffusive-like motion of tracer particles can not be accurately modeled as random-walk diffusion due to inhomogeneity of particle transport rates. The technique is then used to investigate the effect of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) on cytoplasmic transport. We find that VIFs significantly inhibit the displacement of objects in the cytoplasm."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["First-passage time analysis of particle transport in the cytoplasm"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Guo, Ming"],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Dhaliwal, Vira"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2022-02-07T15:24:20Z"],"dc:date.available":["2022-02-07T15:24:20Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-09"],"dc:description.abstract":["Cell mechanics are often probed by tracking fluorescent tracer particles embedded in the cytoplasm. The analysis of such experiments typically involves computation of the mean-square displacement of the particles, and thus ignores the variation in how individual particles are transported by activity within the cell. Here, first-passage time (FPT) analysis is presented as an alternate measure that can better represent the diversity of particle behavior. FPT analysis reveals that the diffusive-like motion of tracer particles can not be accurately modeled as random-walk diffusion due to inhomogeneity of particle transport rates. The technique is then used to investigate the effect of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) on cytoplasmic transport. We find that VIFs significantly inhibit the displacement of objects in the cytoplasm."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/140105"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted","Copyright MIT"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/"],"dc:title":["First-passage time analysis of particle transport in the cytoplasm"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master","Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:26Z"}