TRANSPORT

MECHANISM
IN THE CELL
MEMBRANE
 THE CELL MEMBRANE

❑ the cell membrane is

made up of
phospholipid bilayer
❑ It delineates the
internal and external
environment of the
cell.
❑ It is designed to be
selectively permeable.
 THE CELL MEMBRANE

❑ Selective permeability
is a property of cellular
membranes that only
allows certain
molecules to enter or
exit the cell.
This is important for the cell to
maintain its internal order
irrespective of the changes to
the environment.
 FLUID MOSAIC MODEL
❑ is the most acceptable cell
membrane model which is
proposed by Seymour Jonathan
Singer and Garth L. Nicholson
to describe its structure.
❑ The model is “fluid” because the
various functional
macromolecules embedded in
the phospholipid matrix of the
cell membrane can move about
the surface of the cell.
 FLUID MOSAIC MODEL

❑ Based on this model, the

membrane is made up of
various parts such as
proteins, carbohydrates and
cholesterol.
❑ These components pave the
surface of the matrix just like
individual tiles, hence the
“mosaic” appearance.
 MACROMOLECULES

Phospholipid
❑It is amphiphatic,
which means it has
hydrophilic and
hydrophobic ends
 MACROMOLECULES

Phospholipid
❑The hydrophilic head, is
made up of phosphate group
that can be attached to water
molecules.
❑The hydrophobic tail, on the
other hand, is made up of
fatty acids that resists water.
On the tail of the
phospholipid is a kink.
 MACROMOLECULES

Phospholipid
❑A phospholipid can move in
bilayer in several ways. It
moves in axis through rotation.
❑It can move also sideward
through lateral diffusion and
can move from inner layer to
the outer layer or vice versa
through transversal diffusion.
 MACROMOLECULES

Cholesterol
❑The cholesterol is found in
between the phospholipids and
acts as a fluidity buffer.
❑During warm temperature, it makes
the movement of phospholipids limited,
making them less fluid.
❑During low temperature, it prevents
the close packing of the phospholipids,
thus increasing their fluidity.
 MACROMOLECULES
Proteins
❑The peripheral protein
is found only on the
surface of the
membrane. Those that
cross the bilayer is
called integral proteins.
 MACROMOLECULES
Proteins
❑One of the function of
proteins involves the
transport of materials in and
out of the cell.
❑They may also come in the
form of carrier or channel
proteins that facilitate the
transport of materials across
the cell membrane.
 MACROMOLECULES

Glycolipids and Glycoproteins

❑Membrane proteins with
attached carbohydrate
chains are called
glycoprotein and lipids
with attached carbohydrate
chains are called
glycolipids.
 MACROMOLECULES

Glycolipids and Glycoproteins

❑Membrane proteins with attached
carbohydrate chains are called
glycoprotein and lipids with
attached carbohydrate chains are
called glycolipids.
❑These structures helps in stabilizing the
membrane structure which is an
important function of these structures in
cell recognition.