Association dynamics and lateral transport in biological membranes.

A theoretical analysis is presented for the interrelated effects of lateral diffusion and a simple form of molecular association (A + B in equilibrium with C) in biological membranes. Expression are derived for the characteristic functions measured in fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching experiments, corresponding to both the Fourier transform analysis of concentration in a plane and the normal mode analysis for a spherical surface. The results are related to the reputed binding of integral membrane proteins to submembranous cytoskeletal elements.