Glutamate released at one edge of a synaptic cleft of width diffuses with

PHYSICS · Subjective · Fermi University Physics · Biophysics & Medical Physics · Physical foundations of the living cell · Physical foundations of the living cell

Forces, Machines and Signals, Ch Diffusion: friction, capture and the crowded cytoplasm

Problem

Glutamate released at one edge of a synaptic cleft of width 20 nm20\,\mathrm{nm} diffuses with D=5.0×10−10 m2 s−1D = 5.0\times10^{-10}\,\mathrm{m^2\,s^{-1}}. Using the point-release estimate t∼x2/2Dt \sim x^2/2D for the time to spread a distance xx, estimate the time for glutamate to cross the cleft.

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