Transport PDF

Membrane transport
11/06/2015
Passive transport:
• process of moving molecules and other substances across
membrane
• due to the concentration gradient and the electric potential
gradient
• does not involve any metabolic energy
• is realized through
• Simple Diffusion
• Facilitated Diffusion
• Osmosis
• Filtration
Simple Diffusion
• the net transport of molecules from a region of higher
concentration to one of lower concentration
• the difference in concentration between the two regions is
called the concentration gradient
• diffusion tends to continue until the concentration gradient
vanishes
• example: dialysis uses diffusion of solutes (waste removal)

and ultrafiltration of fluid (fluid removal) across a semi-
permeable membrane
• 1st Fick's law:
D is the diffusion coefficient (with the unit m 2/sec)

S is the membrane surface
• when a membrane separates two solutions of the same

electrolyte, but of different concentrations, there may be a
transfer of the electrolyte from the more concentrated solution
to the most diluted
• if an ion moves faster than that with an opposite charge, there
is a separation of charges and as such there appears an electric
field (potential of diffusion), which slows the faster ion and
accelerates the slower one
• such a mechanism maintains the electro-neutrality
Osmosis
• is the diffusion of water though a semi-permeable membrane
(a selectively permeable membrane) to the region with a lower
concentration of water
• an osmotic pressure oriented to the solvent will appear

• van't Hoff law
K is a constant, C is the molar concentration of the

solution, and T is the absolute temperature
IF the total molar concentration of all dissolved solute particles...
• is greater than that of another solution (cell)
◦ => Hypertonic Solution => shrinking
• is the same in both solutions
◦ => Isotonic Solution
• is less than that of another solution (cell)
◦ => Hypotonic Solution => stretching, burst
• The plasma blood's macromolecules are in a form of colloids,
therefore, the osmotic pressure, which is caused by them, is called
oncotic pressure or colloid osmotic pressure.
◦ Albumin contribute most to oncotic pressure 65...75%
(albumin is the most abundant plasma protein)
◦ Fibrinogen contribute the least (low concentration)
• In plasma, the colloid osmotic pressure has typically a quite

small percent (about 0.5%) of the total osmotic pressure.
• Because colloids cannot cross the capillary membrane easily
the oncotic pressure is extremely important in transcapillary fluid
dynamics
◦ Reduced oncotic pressure => Oedema (swelling in tissues)
Osmosis limits:
• for very small or very high solvent concentrations the osmosis
laws no longer apply
• at temperatures higher than 40 Celsius degree the osmosis
laws are useless
• the electrolytes does not comply with the osmosis laws,
because they dissociate and the new particles will have their
contribution to the osmotic pressure (the van't Hoff law can be
corrected by introducing a coefficient that depend on the
degree of the electrolyte's dissociation)
Deviations from the osmosis law may occur due to

• the polarization of the cell membrane
• the irreciprocal permeability of the cell membrane
Facilitated diffusion (facilitated transport or passive-mediated
transport)
• Danielli and Davson showed that glucose molecule enters into
erythrocyte 10000 times faster compared to the rate calculated
by simple diffusion's law
• has features that are common both with the active transport
and the simple diffusion:
• it acts under the concentration gradient
• no metabolic energy is required
- in simple diffusion, the substance passes between the phospholipids

- in facilitated diffusion there are a specialized membrane channels / carrier proteins
• this model explains the transport of oxygen by hemoglobin molecule

Facilitated diffusion of water
• the net flow of water will facilitate the crossing of membrane
for another water molecule.
• a molecule of water will pass more easily through membrane,
when there are other water molecules which are moving in the
same direction.
Transport through coupled stream between different
substances
• phenomena of coupled flows
• especially between a chemical component "i" and isotopic
species C
• these coupled flows are formed due to the protein recognition
of carriers
• they allow binding to other compounds, and their passage, if
they have similar structures or similar sizes
• in biological membranes exist another form of coupled flow

between particles with completely different structures, such as
NaCl and water, H+ and glucose, or Na+ and amino acids.
Active transport:
• the term was introduced by Overton
• the living cells can maintain the concentration gradients,
between cytoplasm and environment, for those substances that
are diffusible through the membrane
• the cell membrane is working against the gradient of
concentration
• is carried out with a consumption of metabolic energy
• is mediated by some carriers, such as enzymes or other proteic
components of membrane
• all cells, and especially the excitable ones, are pumping
sodium from inside to outside and potassium from outside to
inside, using metabolic energy, this system being called the
sodium-potassium pump (Na+/K+-ATPase, Na+/K+ pump, or
simply sodium pump)
• Active transport of Na+ and K+ ions is explained by ATPase
• The cell provides energy through the ATP molecule
• Mechanism:
• The pump, with bound ATP, binds 3 intracellular Na + ions
• ATP is hydrolyzed, leading to phosphorylation of the

pump and release of ADP
• the phosphorylated form of the pump has a low affinity

for Na+ ions, so they are released to the outside
• The pump binds 2 extracellular K+ ions (this causes the

dephosphorylation of the pump, reverting it to its previous
conformational state and transporting the K+ ions into the
cell)
• The unphosphorylated form of the pump has a higher

affinity for Na+ ions than K+ ions, so the two bound K+
ions are released. ATP binds, and the process starts again.
Types of active transport:
• Primary active transport or direct active transport, directly

uses energy to transport molecules across a membrane
• Secondary active transport - there is no direct coupling of
ATP
• the electrochemical potential difference created by
pumping ions out of the cell is used
• For example: active resorption of sugar by the kidney and
intestine
• uses the glucose symporter SGLT1 (Sodium-dependent glucose
cotransporter is found in the intestinal mucosa of the small intestine)
• SGLT1 co-transports one glucose molecule into the cell for every two
sodium ions it imports into the cell (symport)
Transport of Large Particles (by using of membrane vesicle)
• endocytosis = a large molecule enters the cell
◦ phagocytosis = if the particle is solid
◦ pinocytosis = if the “particle” is liquid (fluid droplets)
• exocytosis = expelling of a large molecule
◦ secretory vesicles

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Membrane transport

• example: dialysis uses diffusion of solutes (waste removal)

D is the diffusion coefficient (with the unit m 2/sec)

• when a membrane separates two solutions of the same

• an osmotic pressure oriented to the solvent will appear

K is a constant, C is the molar concentration of the

• In plasma, the colloid osmotic pressure has typically a quite

Deviations from the osmosis law may occur due to

- in simple diffusion, the substance passes between the phospholipids

• this model explains the transport of oxygen by hemoglobin molecule

• in biological membranes exist another form of coupled flow

• ATP is hydrolyzed, leading to phosphorylation of the

• the phosphorylated form of the pump has a low affinity

• The pump binds 2 extracellular K+ ions (this causes the

• The unphosphorylated form of the pump has a higher

• Primary active transport or direct active transport, directly

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