Substances transported for
Elimination from
chemical reactions
the cells
electrical
potentials at the
membrane
Cell Membrane
• surrounds entire cell and cell organelles
• Fluid in nature – movement of molecules
• Phospholipid bilayer – head – polar/hydrophilic
tail – nonpolar/hydrophobic
Integral –carrier & channel
• Proteins
Peripheral-receptors & antigen
Extrinsic protein Glycolipid
Head ECF
(hydrophilic) Glycoprotein
Lipid bilayer
Tail
(hydrophobic)
cholesterol Integral proteins
Intrinsic protein ICF
Functions of cell membrane
Acts as semi permeable barrier –(selective)
o Maintains difference in composition of
ICF & ECF & fluid in various organelles
o Protects cell from toxic substances
o Excretion of waste products
o Transport of nutrients
Receives signals from the outside
Chemical signals
Electrical signals
Site for attachment to the neighboring cells
Important concepts in transport mechanism
1. Energy expenditure in transport mechanism
2. Channels
3. transporter molecule
Ion Channels
Voltage-gated
Ligand-gated
Temperature-gated
Mechanical-gated
Transport across cell membrane
Transport Mechanisms
Passive Active
Simple diffusion Primary active transport
Facilitated diffusion Secondary active transport
Filtration Endo/Exocytosis
Osmosis
dialysis
Methods of transport
Passive Active
Diffusion Osmosis Filtration Dialysis
Simple facilitated
Lipid bilayer
Protein Leaky channels
voltage gated
channels Gated channels
Ligand gated
Simple diffusion -
Movement of molecules from higher
concentration to lower
concentration till equilibrium is reached
.Diffusion can takes place through:
a) Lipid bilayer
i) Lipid soluble substances-
O2,Co2,alcohol, steriods etc
ii) Lipid insoluble – water (through
spaces bet lipid mol) urea, sugar
(less or no
permeability)
iii) Electrolytes – impermeable
– charge on fatty acid chain
.
b) Protein Channels Open/leaky – Na+ channels,
K+ channels
Gated –channels open under specific conditions
Ligand gated Voltage gated
Na+
Na+,
K+
K+
Ca++,
Mutation of ionic channels produce channelopathies –affecting
muscle and brain – paralysis or convulsions
Factors affecting rate of diffusion
• Lipid solubility
Molecular
• Molecular size & wt.
• Temperature
• Thickness of membrane Membrane related
• Surface area
• Concentration gradient
Gradients
• Pressure gradient
• Electrical gradient
p. Fick’s law of diffusion –
Im
ΔC∙P∙A
Q α ────
MW∙ ΔX
Q = net rate of diffusion
ΔC = conc. gradient of a substance
P = permeability of membrane to the sub.
A = surface area of a membrane
MW = molecular wt. of sub.
ΔX = thickness or distance
II. Facilitated diffusion :
Facilitated diffusion is the passive movement of molecules along
the concentration gradient. Carrier protein-mediated transport
of substance across cell membrane is known as Facilitated
diffusion. It is a selective process, i.e., the membrane allows
only selective molecules and ions to pass through it. It,
however, prevents other molecules from passing through the
membrane. The electric charge and pH helps in the diffusion
across the membrane.
Mechanism
Factors Affecting Facilitated Diffusion
Brownian motion is the force behind the diffusion of fluids.
The main factors affecting the process of facilitated
diffusion are:
•Temperature- As the temperature increases, the
movement of the molecules increases due to an increase
in energy.
•Concentration- The movement of the molecules takes
place from the region of higher concentration to lower
concentration.
•Diffusion Distance- The diffusion rate is faster through
smaller distance than through the larger distance. For eg.,
gas diffuses much faster through a thin wall than through
a thick wall.
•Size of the molecules- The smaller molecules are lighter
and hence diffuse faster than the larger molecules.
III. Osmosis & osmotic pressure–
when two solutions of different concentrations are
separated by a semi permeable membrane
( impermeable to solute and permeable to water )
water mols. diffuse from solution having less conc. to
the sol. having higher conc.
Osmotic pressure is the minimum pressure
applied on the solution with high conc. which
prevents osmosis.
- depends upon total no. of particles of dissolved
solutes rather than type of the particles
IV. Filtration
Filtration is a process in which fluid along
with solutes passes through a membrane due to
difference in pressures on both sides.
V. Dialysis –
separation of larger dissolved particles from
smaller particles
It is used for elimination of waste products in the
blood in case of renal failure.
Active transport
Primary active transport
Secondary active transport
Endocytosis
Pinocytosis
Phagocytosis
Exocytosis
I. Primary active transport –
Examples - Na+ - K+ pump, Ca++ pump
H+-K+ pump
- Inner surface of carrier mol. has ATPase
which is activated by attachment of specific
ions and causes hydrolysis of ATP molecule
- Energy released from ATP causes
conformational change in the carrier which
transports ions to the opposite side.
a) Na+ -K + pump- electrogenic pump
- Attachment of 2K+ on outer side & 3 Na+ on inner side
Activation of ATPase
3Na+
Conformational change
ATP Efflux of 3 Na+ & influx of 2K+
2K+
aes
Creates high K+ conc. & negativity inside the
cell Helps in maintaining cell volume
Na-K pump is one of the major energy using
process in the body & accounts for a large part
of basal metabolism.
Regulators of Na-K pump –
- Increased amount of cellular Na conc.
- Thyroid hormones increase pump activity by more Na-K
ATPase mol
- Aldosterone also increases of pumps
- Dopamine inhibits pump
- Insulin increases pump activity
- Ca++ pump –
present in the membrane of ER,
mitochondria and cell membrane
- involves uniport carrier
- helps to maintain low Ca++conc. in ICF
II. Secondary active transport
It is also known as co-transport or coupled
transport mechanism. The secondary active
transport use stored energy in ion gradients to
actively transport molecules across
membranes. The co-transport mechanism is
classified as uniport, antiport and symport.
Types of transporters
Uniport Symport Antiport
Passive transport Active transport
• No expenditure of • Expenditure of energy
energy molecules mol. ( ATP )
• Takes place along • Can take place against
conc., electrical, & conc. Gradient
pressure gradient
• Carrier may or may • Carrier is always
not be required required
• Rate is proportional to • Rate is proportional to
conc. difference availability of carrier
& energy. (Vmax)
Simple Diffusion Facilitated Diffusion
• Passive transport • Passive transport
• For small molecules • For large molecules
• No carrier required • Carrier mediated
• Rate of transport is • Initially rate is
directly proportional to proportional to conc.
conc. gradient gradient till Vmax
• Examples – ( saturation of carriers)
Lipid soluble – • Examples –
O2, CO2, alcohol glucose, amino acids
Lipid insoluble –
urea, Na+, K+
