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Cellular Biophysics: From Membrane Transport to Neural Signaling explores how physical principles shape and govern cellular function. Written for undergraduate students in biophysics, life sciences, and physics, it shows how basic processes—such as diffusion, membrane transport, and ion channel activity—give rise to physiological outcomes like homeostasis, neural signaling, and synaptic transmission.
The book integrates biological, chemical, and physical perspectives, using accessible mathematics to quantify cellular behavior. Equations are explained intuitively, with emphasis on physical meaning rather than formalism. Designed as both a course text and a reference, it helps readers connect molecular biology with quantitative modeling, offering a clear and approachable framework for understanding how physics drives cellular physiology.
Key features: - Designed as a textbook for a first course in cellular biophysics or introductory biophysics. - Requires only minimal prior background—Calculus I, introductory physics, and general biology—making it accessible to all STEM and pre-health majors. - Provides a logical progression of topics, moving from fundamental physical principles to more advanced concepts such as ion channels, molecular motors, and synaptic transmission. - Bridges a curricular gap between biology and physics. Unlike many existing biophysics texts, it does not assume prior knowledge of advanced physics topics such as thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, or fluid dynamics—areas often beyond the reach of biology, neuroscience, or pre-health students. - Integrates mathematical models throughout the chapters to illuminate the physical basis of living systems, with equations introduced intuitively and explained in plain language. - Emphasizes the transfer of methods and tools from the physical sciences to the life sciences. The material can also serve as a foundation for applied mathematics or quantitative biology courses. - Includes end-of-chapter summaries and problems designed to reinforce understanding and strengthen connections between physical principles and biological function.
Dr Armin Kargol is Professor of Physics and the Rev. James C. Carter, S.J., Distinguished Professor in Experimental Physics at Loyola University New Orleans, where he has taught physics and biophysics for over two decades. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Virginia Tech and completed postdoctoral fellowships in mathematical physics at the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications (IMA) and in cellular biophysics at Tulane University. His research centers on ion channel biophysics and quantitative modeling of cellular physiological processes.
- Introduction to cells
- Permeation
- Carrier-based transport
- Ion channels
- Active transport: ion pumps
- Endo- and exocytosis
- Active transport: molecular motors
- Cell homeostasis
- Homeostasis and transport in epithelial cells
- Electrical properties of neurons
- Neuron excitability
- Synaptic transmission
- Mathematical appendix