TOPIC: OSMOSIS

About Osmosis

The word “osmosis” comes from Greek word “Osmos” means “a push” then it was
make Osmosis (during mid of 19th century).

Osmosis is spontaneous process by which water molecules passes through semi

permeable membrane (Cell Membrane) from lower solute concentration to higher
solute concentration until the solution comes equilibrium.
It was first thoroughly studied in 1877 by a German plant physiologist Wilhelm Pfeffer
and accurate study in leaky membrane (Plasma Membrane) by in 1854 by a British
chemist, Thomas Graham.
TERMS USED IN OSMOSIS
Water Potential: it is a concept fundamental to understanding water movement.it is
denoted as Ψ̫w.

Solute Potential: it is a magnitude of lower water potential of solution due to

dissolution of solute is called solute potential. It is denoted as Ψs.

Pressure potential: it is ability of cell wall or membrane to make swelled. It is

denoted by Ψp .

According to Van’t Hoff factor that says water potential is equals to sum of solute
potential and pressure potential.

Ψw = Ψs + Ψp where,
Ψw = water potential
Ψs = solute potential
Ψp = pressure potential
Osmosis depends upon nature of solution as follows;
Hypotonic solution: if cell placed on a which has lower concentration of solute in that
case cell must be burst.
Isotonic solution: it is which has equal concentration of solute as well as cell’s
cytoplasm concentration.
Hypertonic solution: it refers a solution which has higher concentration of solute as
compare to cell in that case cell must be plasmolyzed

Osmosis Role in Animals Cells

It plays key role in animal cells because they will be lysed when they are placed in a
hypotonic solution.
Some cells, such as erythrocytes, will actually burst as water enters them by osmotic
flow. Rupture of the plasma membrane by a flow of water into the cytosol is termed
osmotic lysis. Consequently, it is essential that animal cells be maintained in an
isotonic medium, which has a solute concentration close to that of the cell cytosol

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Even in an isotonic environment, all animal cells face a problem in maintaining their
cell volume. Cells contain a large number of charged macromolecules and small
metabolites that attract ions of opposite charge (e.g., K +, Ca2+, PO43−). Also recall that
there is a slow leakage of extracellular ions, particularly Na + and Cl−, into cells down
their concentration gradient then cell must be lysed.

To prevent this, animal cells actively export inorganic ions as rapidly as they leak in.
The export of Na+ by the ATP-powered Na+/K+ pump plays the major role in this
mechanism for preventing cell swelling. If cultured cells are treated with an inhibitor
that prevents production of ATP, they swell and eventually burst, demonstrating the
importance of active transport in maintaining cell volume.

The Effects of Osmosis

In Plant Cells: Plant cells are enclosed by a rigid cell wall. When the plant cell is
placed in a hypotonic solution, it takes up water by osmosis and starts to swell, but
the cell wall prevents it from bursting. This is called Turgidity but, in hypertonic
solution cells must be plasmolyzed.

In Animal Cells: Animal cells do not have cell walls. In hypotonic solutions, animal
cells swell up and explode as they cannot become turgid because absence of cell
wall to prevent the cell from bursting. In hypertonic solutions, water diffuses out of
the cell due to osmosis and the cell shrinks. Thus, the animal cell has always to be
surrounded by an isotonic solution.
In the human body, the kidneys control regulatory system and desertification of salt
in blood plasma which is directly controlled by hypothalamus.
In Dialysis: It is a process where both the solvent molecules and small solute
molecules are able to pass through the selectively permeable dialysis membrane
but other larger components such as large colloidal molecules like proteins cannot
pass through pores in the dialysis membranes.
The most important medical application of dialysis is in dialysis machines, where
hemodialysis is used in the purification of blood from patients suffering from renal
malfunction. Blood from the patient is circulated through a long cellophane
dialysis tube suspended in an isotonic solution called the dialysate which is an
electrolyte solution containing the normal constituents of blood plasma.

Reverse Osmosis:

Reverse osmosis is the process by which the liquid solvent moves across the
semi-permeable membrane against its concentration gradient, this process is also
known as hyperfiltration as it is one of the best filtration methods known. The
removal of particles as small as ions from a solution is made possible using this
method. Reverse osmosis is most commonly used to purify water and
desalination. Reverse osmosis is capable of rejecting bacteria, salts, sugars,
proteins, particles, dyes, etc.

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In Drug Delivery
The osmotic-controlled release oral delivery system (OROS) is an advanced
controlled release oral drug delivery system in the form of a rigid tablet with a semi-
permeable outer membrane and one or more small laser drilled holes in it. As the
tablet passes through the body, water is absorbed through the semipermeable
membrane via osmosis, and the resulting osmotic pressure is used to push the
active drug through the opening in the tablet.
OROS- is a trademarked name owned by ALZA Corporation, which pioneered the
use of osmotic pumps for oral drug delivery.
Why is osmosis so important?
The most important function of osmosis is stabilizing the internal environment of an
organism by keeping the water and intercellular fluids levels balanced. In all living
organisms, nutrients and minerals make their way to the cells because of osmosis.
This obviously is essential to the survival of a cell.

Source:
https://www.slideshare.net/DhirendraKumar175/osmosis-178438151

Presented by Jonathan Yadawon

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