Two- and Three-Dimensional Poisson–Nernst–Planck Simulations of Current Flow Through Gramicidin A
Journal of Scientific Computing
High-order FDTD methods via derivative matching for Maxwell's equations with material interfaces
Journal of Computational Physics
Journal of Computational Physics
Three-dimensional matched interface and boundary (MIB) method for treating geometric singularities
Journal of Computational Physics
Second-order Poisson-Nernst-Planck solver for ion transport
Journal of Computational Physics
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The mechanoelectrical transducer (MET) is a crucial component of mammalian auditory system. The gating mechanism of the MET channel remains a puzzling issue, though there are many speculations, due to the lack of essential molecular building blocks. To understand the working principle of mammalian MET, we propose a molecular level prototype which constitutes a charged blocker, a realistic ion channel and its surrounding membrane. To validate the proposed prototype, we make use of a well-established ion channel theory, the Poisson---Nernst---Planck equations, for three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations. A wide variety of model parameters, including bulk ion concentration, applied external voltage, blocker charge and blocker displacement, are explored to understand the basic function of the proposed MET prototype. We show that our prototype prediction of channel open probability in response to blocker relative displacement is in remarkable accordance with experimental observation of rat cochlea outer hair cells. Our results appear to suggest that tip links which connect hair bundles gate MET channels.