Beyond Simplifications: Overlooked Physics of Macromolecular Behaviors in Living Cells

IF 5.2 1区化学 Q1 POLYMER SCIENCE

Macromolecules Pub Date : 2025-09-05 DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.5c00706

Miho Yanagisawa*, and , Kei Fujiwara*,

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Simplifications are key to understanding the complex physical behaviors of biomacromolecules within living cells. However, in cell-sized spaces─micrometer-scale compartments enclosed by lipid membranes─the molecular organization, phase behavior, and reaction dynamics are influenced by confinement, high molecular concentrations, and membrane interfacial effects. Studies have shown that these factors, which are often overlooked or ignored during simplification, are critical for deducing the physics of intracellular processes. This perspective highlights the recent findings on the molecular behaviors of cell-sized spaces and emphasizes the need to consider cell-sized space effects, molecular diversity, and nonequilibrium dynamics to elucidate the physics of living cells. A deeper understanding of these fundamental principles bridges the gap between molecular biology and physics. In addition, it will refine our understanding of cellular organization, inspire developments in biomaterials, and contribute to polymer science.

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超越简化：活细胞中被忽视的大分子行为物理学

简化是理解活细胞内生物大分子复杂物理行为的关键。然而，在细胞大小的空间──被脂质膜包围的微米级隔室──分子组织、相行为和反应动力学受到限制、高分子浓度和膜界面效应的影响。研究表明，这些在简化过程中经常被忽视或忽略的因素对于推断细胞内过程的物理特性至关重要。这一观点强调了细胞大小空间的分子行为的最新发现，并强调需要考虑细胞大小空间效应、分子多样性和非平衡动力学来阐明活细胞的物理学。对这些基本原理的深入理解弥合了分子生物学和物理学之间的差距。此外，它将完善我们对细胞组织的理解，激发生物材料的发展，并为聚合物科学做出贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Macromolecules 工程技术-高分子科学

CiteScore

9.30

自引率

16.40%

发文量

942

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Macromolecules publishes original, fundamental, and impactful research on all aspects of polymer science. Topics of interest include synthesis (e.g., controlled polymerizations, polymerization catalysis, post polymerization modification, new monomer structures and polymer architectures, and polymerization mechanisms/kinetics analysis); phase behavior, thermodynamics, dynamic, and ordering/disordering phenomena (e.g., self-assembly, gelation, crystallization, solution/melt/solid-state characteristics); structure and properties (e.g., mechanical and rheological properties, surface/interfacial characteristics, electronic and transport properties); new state of the art characterization (e.g., spectroscopy, scattering, microscopy, rheology), simulation (e.g., Monte Carlo, molecular dynamics, multi-scale/coarse-grained modeling), and theoretical methods. Renewable/sustainable polymers, polymer networks, responsive polymers, electro-, magneto- and opto-active macromolecules, inorganic polymers, charge-transporting polymers (ion-containing, semiconducting, and conducting), nanostructured polymers, and polymer composites are also of interest. Typical papers published in Macromolecules showcase important and innovative concepts, experimental methods/observations, and theoretical/computational approaches that demonstrate a fundamental advance in the understanding of polymers.