151-0255-00L  Energy Conversion and Transport in Biosystems

SemesterAutumn Semester 2019
LecturersA. Ferrari
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish


AbstractTheory and application of thermodynamics and energy conversion in biological systems with focus on the cellular level.
Learning objectiveTheory and application of energy conversion at the cellular level. Understanding of the basic features governing solutes transport in the principal systems of the human cell. Connection of characteristics and patterns from other fields of engineering to biofluidics. Heat and mass transport processes in the cell, generation of forces, work and relation to biomedical technologies.
ContentMass transfer models for the transport of chemical species in the human cell. Organization and function of the cell membrane and of the cell cytoskeleton. The role of molecular motors in cellular force generation and their function in cell migration. Description of the functionality of these systems and of analytical experimental and computational techniques for understanding of their operation. Introduction to cell metabolism, cellular energy transport and cellular thermodynamics.
Lecture notesMaterial in the form of hand-outs will be distributed.
LiteratureLecture notes and references therein.