Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (한국산업응용수학회)
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A COMPUTATIONAL MODEL FOR OSMOSIS PHENOMENA OF CELLS THROUGH SEMI-PERMEABLE MEMBRANES

  • Kim, Im-Bunm (DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY) ;
  • Ha, Tae-Young (NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES) ;
  • Sheen, Dong-Woo (DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY)
  • Received : 2009.05.08
  • Accepted : 2009.05.25
  • Published : 2009.06.25
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Abstract

The effect of a solute concentration difference on the osmotic transport of water through the semi-permeable membrane of a simple cell model is investigated. So far, most studies on osmotic phenomena are described by simple diffusion-type equations ignoring all fluid motion or described by Stokes flow. In our work, as the governing equations, we consider the coupled full Navier-Stokes equations which describe the fluid motion and the full transport equation that takes into account of convection and diffusion effects. A two dimensional finite difference model has been developed to simulate the velocity field, concentration field, and semi-permeable membrane movement. It is shown that the cell swells to regions of lower solute concentration due to the uneven water flux through the semi-permeable membrane. The simulation is applied on a red blood cell geometry and the relevant results are presented.

Keywords

References

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