Journal article
A mathematical model for targeting chemicals to tissues by exploiting complex degradation
BS Gardiner, L Zhang, DW Smith, P Pivonka, AJ Grodzinsky
Biology Direct | BIOMED CENTRAL LTD | Published : 2011
Open access
Abstract
Background: In many biological and therapeutic contexts, it is highly desirable to target a chemical specifically to a particular tissue where it exerts its biological effect. In this paper, we present a simple, generic, mathematical model that elucidates a general method for targeting a chemical to particular tissues. The model consists of coupled reaction-diffusion equations to describe the evolution within the tissue of the concentrations of three chemical species: a (concentration of free chemical), b (binding protein) and their complex, c (chemical bound to binding protein). We assume that all species are free to diffuse, and that a and b undergo a reversible reaction to form c. In addi..
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Awarded by National Institutes of Health
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge funding from Australian Research Council (DP50192), the University of Melbourne, and NIH Grant AR33236. The funding bodies did not play any role in the design or execution of the study, analysis, and interpretation of results, or in the writing of the manuscript and the decision to submit it for publication. The authors would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr J.E.F. Green.