Lizana L, Konkoli Z, Bauer B, Jesorka A, Orwar O
Department of Physical Chemistry, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Annu Rev Phys Chem. 2009;60:449-68. doi: 10.1146/annurev.physchem.040808.090255.
Scientific literature dealing with the rates, mechanisms, and thermodynamic properties of chemical reactions in condensed media almost exclusively assumes that reactions take place in volumes that do not change over time. The reaction volumes are compact (such as a sphere, a cube, or a cylinder) and do not vary in shape. In this review article, we discuss two important systems at small length scales (approximately 10 nm to 5 microm), in which these basic assumptions are violated. The first system exists in cell biology and is represented by the tiniest functional components (i.e., single cells, organelles, and other physically delineated cellular microenvironments). The second system comprises nanofluidic devices, in particular devices made from soft-matter materials such as lipid nanotube-vesicle networks. In these two systems, transport, mixing, and shape changes can be achieved at or very close to thermal energy levels. In further contrast to macroscopic systems, mixing by diffusion is extremely efficient, and kinetics can be controlled by shape and volume changes.
涉及凝聚介质中化学反应速率、机理和热力学性质的科学文献几乎都假定反应发生在体积不随时间变化的体系中。反应体积是紧凑的（如球体、立方体或圆柱体），且形状不变。在这篇综述文章中，我们讨论了两个小长度尺度（约10纳米至5微米）下的重要体系，其中这些基本假设并不成立。第一个体系存在于细胞生物学中，由最小的功能组件（即单细胞、细胞器和其他物理界定的细胞微环境）代表。第二个体系包括纳米流体装置，特别是由软物质材料制成的装置，如脂质纳米管 - 囊泡网络。在这两个体系中，传输、混合和形状变化可以在热能水平或非常接近热能水平时实现。与宏观体系进一步不同的是，扩散混合极其高效，动力学可以通过形状和体积变化来控制。
