Self-organised criticality and 1/f noise in single-channel current of voltage-dependent anion channel

Abstract: Noise profile of Voltage Dependent Anion Channel (VDAC) is investigated in open channel state. Single-channel currents through VDAC from mitochondria of rat brain reconstituted into a planar lipid bilayer are recorded under different voltage clamped conditions across the membrane. Power spectrum analysis of current indicates powerlaw noise of 1/f nature. Moreover, this 1/f nature of the open channel noise is seen throughout the range of applied membrane potential -30 to +30 mV. It is being proposed that 1/f noise in open ion channel arises out of obstruction in the passage of ions across the membrane. The process is recognised as a phenomenon of self-organized-criticality (SOC) like sandpile avalanche and other physical systems. Based on SOC it has been theoretically established that the system of ion channel follows powerlaw noise as observed in our experiments. We also show that the first-time return probability of current fluctuations obeys a powerlaw distribution.