MCell: A Monte Carlo Simulator of Cellular Microphysiology

Image, rendered with DReAMM, from a simulation of synaptic transmission in a chick ciliary ganglion somatic spine mat as presented in Science Magazine July 15, 2005. For more information click here.

MCell is a modeling tool for realistic simulation of cellular signaling in the complex 3-D subcellular microenvironment in and around living cells -- what we call cellular microphysiology. At such small subcellular scales the familiar macroscopic concept of concentration is not useful and stochastic behavior dominates. MCell uses highly optimized Monte Carlo algorithms to track the stochastic behavior of discrete molecules in space and time as they diffuse and interact with other discrete effector molecules (e.g. ion channels, enzymes, transporters) heterogeneously distributed within the 3-D geometry of the subcellular environment.

What's Hot:

MCell simulations of neurotransmission in chick ciliary ganglion featured in Science Magazine Research Article July 15, 2005. Click here for details.
Brand new documentation including a Getting Started section, User Manual, and FAQ.
The Quick Reference Guide and Online Tutorials have been updated.
Revamped website.

MCell is developed and supported by the MCell gang

With additional support from:

Center for Theoretical Biological Physics

The National Science Foundation

Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center Carnegie Mellon University

National Institutes of Health

The National Partnership for Advanced Computing Infrastructure

Supported by the National Science Foundation (IBN-9985964 and ITR-0086092) and the National Institutes of Health (RR-06009).