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Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 020601 (2006) [4 pages]

Identity of Distributions of Direct Uphill and Downhill Translocation Times for Particles Traversing Membrane Channels

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Alexander M. Berezhkovskii1, Gerhard Hummer2, and Sergey M. Bezrukov3
1Mathematical and Statistical Computing Laboratory, Division of Computational Bioscience, Center for Information Technology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
2Laboratory of Chemical Physics, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
3Laboratory of Physical and Structural Biology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA

Received 18 April 2006; published 11 July 2006

We study the distribution of direct translocation times for particles passing through membrane channels connecting two reservoirs. The direct translocation time is a conditional first-passage time defined as the residence time of the particle in the channel while passing to the other side of the membrane directly, i.e., without returning to the reservoir from which it entered. We show that the distributions of direct translocation times are identical for translocation in both directions, independent of any asymmetry in the potential across the channel and, hence, the translocation probabilities.

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.020601
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.020601
PACS:
87.16.Uv, 05.40.−a, 82.39.Wj, 87.10.+e
 
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