Abstract
The electrophoretic mobility of a particle covered by a membrane in an a: belectrolyte solution is modeled theoretically. The membrane, which simulates the surface of a biological cell, is ion-penetrable, and carries homogeneously distributed negative fixed charges. An approximate expression for the electrophoretic mobility is derived. Based on the results of numerical simulation, we conclude the following: (1) The absolute Donnan potential increases with the concentration of the fixed charges C 0, but decreases with the ionic strength I. (2) The greater the valence of cation a, the lower the absolute potential distribution. (3) The greater the C 0, the greater the absolute mobility of a particle, |μ|, and the greater the friction coefficient of the membrane phase γ, the smaller the |μ|. (4) A large Ior a large aleads to a small |μ|. (5) The greater the ratio (permittivity of solution/permittivity of membrane phase), the smaller the |μ|. (6) For a large γ,|μ| decreases with the thickness of membrane dunder the condition of constant amount of fixed charges. However, if γ is sufficiently small, the variation of |μ| as a function of dexhibits a maximum. The classic result of Smoluchowski for the electrophoretic mobility of a rigid particle can be recovered as a limiting case of the present model.
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