A Brief Introduction of the Poisson-Nernst-Planck Model for Biological Ion Channels

Mr. Zhen Chao
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
PhD Graduate Student – Fellow

“Ion channels are a class of proteins with holes down their middle that provide pathways for the movement of ions across the otherwise impermeable membranes that are the boundaries that define cells. They are of great biological importance because they control a wide range of biological function, ranging from information transfer and processing in the nervous system, to the coordination of muscle contraction. The Poisson-Nernst-Planck equations were one of the basic continuum model for open ion channels, it describes the permeation process through a protein channel not with discrete ions, but rather with continuum concentrations and electrostatic potentials. I will give an introduction of this model.”