"As a chemical physicist dabbling in molecular biophysics, I am particularly intimidated by the subject of molecular machines. Reading much of what is written on this subject is like trying to understand how the internal combustion engine works by looking at the blueprints of a modern car engine, with the added difficulty of the blueprints often being inaccurate or incomplete.
In contrast, Kolomeisky goes straight into the heart of the matter and explains why and how fundamental principles of physics and chemistry allow those marvelous molecular assemblies to generate directional motion and to perform every mechanical task in the living organism or cell. The author further describes how this molecular motion is studied experimentally, develops quantitative models that explain experimental observations, and provides a succinct, self-contained, and lucid introduction to the fundamentals of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and chemical kinetics relevant to molecular motors as well as to many other biochemical processes. The historical bits dispersed throughout the text make it especially refreshing to read and would be appreciated by any reader who, like myself, is amazed by the progress science has made in understanding the complexity of life."
—Dmitrii Makarov, Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin
"Life is a motion!" (p. xvii) opens this volume that endeavors to provide a physical-chemical framework for understanding the working principles of motor proteins…The first part of the book introduces the physical foundations, starting with diffusion and then discusses a number of techniques, including stopped flow, force spectroscopy, and super-resolution microscopy. The second part covers fundamental physical and chemical concepts, starting with equilibrium approaches before moving to nonequilibrium approaches and enzyme kinetics. Two pleasing touches are biographical details of the scientists who established the founding principles, and the inclusion of questions important to the motors field that are used to frame the discussion of the theoretical concepts.
In the third and defining section of the volume, the author presents two theoretical approaches for modeling molecular motors: Continuum Ratchets and Discrete-State Stochastic models. Having published a number of papers using both approaches, Kolomeisky is the ideal person to present the foundations as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each approach…Overall, the volume is clearly written and will be of value to graduate students and researchers across multiple disciplines related to mechanobiology and nanotechnology. The treatment of modeling approaches is unique and the strongest aspect of the book, but the coverage of fundamental experimental and theoretical concepts underlying motor protein research will also be of value for researchers spanning cell biology, biophysics, and applied mathematics. Most importantly, this volume focuses most on the physical-chemical fundamentals of motor proteins, which will remain foundational as the field moves forward."
—William O. Hancock, Pennsylvania State University, in THE QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY, Volume 93, June 2018
"As a chemical physicist dabbling in molecular biophysics, I am particularly intimidated by the subject of molecular machines. Reading much of what is written on this subject is like trying to understand how the internal combustion engine works by looking at the blueprints of a modern car engine, with the added difficulty of the blueprints often being inaccurate or incomplete.
In contrast, Kolomeisky goes straight into the heart of the matter and explains why and how fundamental principles of physics and chemistry allow those marvelous molecular assemblies to generate directional motion and to perform every mechanical task in the living organism or cell. The author further describes how this molecular motion is studied experimentally, develops quantitative models that explain experimental observations, and provides a succinct, self-contained, and lucid introduction to the fundamentals of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and chemical kinetics relevant to molecular motors as well as to many other biochemical processes. The historical bits dispersed throughout the text make it especially refreshing to read and would be appreciated by any reader who, like myself, is amazed by the progress science has made in understanding the complexity of life."
—Dmitrii Makarov, Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin
