First-passage time analysis of particle transport in the cytoplasm

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Dhaliwal, Vira

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Guo, Ming

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
• Copyright MIT

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/140105

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/140105