Transport across

Cell Membranes
(Textbook Pages 38 – 45)
 Learning Outcomes
Cell membrane structure
-Describe the arrangement of proteins, glycoproteins, glycolipids, phospholipids and
cholesterol in the fluid mosaic model of membrane.
-Analyse the structure, roles and importance of the constituent parts of the cell membrane
to its role on the surface of cells and within cells.

Osmosis
-Define osmosis in terms of water potential. (diffusion of water molecules from a higher to a
lower water potential through a selectively permeable membrane)
-Discuss the effect of osmosis on plant and animal cells (including key terms turgid, flaccid,
insipient plasmolysis, plasmolysis and ruptured cells)

Diffusion, facilitated diffusion and active transport

-Define the processes of diffusion and facilitated diffusion.
-Describe and explain the structure of proteins in their role as channel or carrier proteins
-Compare and contrast the processes of facilitated diffusion and diffusion.
-Identify which substances rely on facilitated diffusion and why they cannot enter/leave cells
by diffusion.
-Describe and explain the principles involved in active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis.
-Interpret data to identify when a substance is moving by facilitated diffusion, passive
diffusion or active transport.
 Transport Across the Cell Membrane
Phospholipids:
•Special type of lipid, where one of the three fatty acid molecules (as in a
triglyceride) is replaced by a phosphate group

•The phosphate group is polar and can dissolve in water

•The head of the molecule is hydrophilic (water-loving), but the hydrocarbon
tails are hydrophobic (water-hating).
Fluid Mosaic Model
•The cell membrane is a double layer (bilayer), made almost entirely of two groups;
lipids and proteins
•‘Fluid’ because molecules move around within the layer. ‘Mosaic’ describes the
pattern of the scattered proteins
•Phospholipid tails point inwards, facing each other and forming a non-polar,
hydrophobic interior. The phospholipid heads face the aqueous medium surrounding
the membrane
•Some of the phospholipid tails are saturated and some are unsaturated. The more
unsaturated they are, the more fluid the membrane. This is because the unsaturated
fatty acid tails are bent and fit together more loosely
•Most protein molecules float about (like icebergs) in the layers, but some are
anchored to structures inside the cell and so do not move
•Some proteins are embedded in only one of the membrane layers (extrinsic
proteins), while some extend across both (intrinsic proteins) They stay in the
membrane as they have hydrophobic portions (R groups)
•Total thickness is about 7 nm on average
•Many proteins and lipids have short, branching carbohydrate chains, forming
glycoproteins and glycolipids
Membrane Function
component
Phospholipids Form the basic bilayer structure, act as a barrier to most
water-soluble substances. Affect the fluidity and
permeability of the membrane.

Cholesterol Also have hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails, helps

to regulate fluidity of membrane preventing it becoming too
fluid or too rigid.

Glycolipids Act as receptor molecules and recognition sites (e.g. ABO

blood antigens). Also stabilise the membrane by forming
hydrogen bonds with water molecules in extracellular
fluids

Proteins Provide structural support for the membrane. Transport

proteins act as hydrophilic channels for ions and polar
molecules to pass through the membrane. Act as
recognition sites. Act as enzymes, energy transducers and
electron carriers
Glycoproteins Also act as recognition sites, e.g. for hormones
Movement in and out of cells
The cell membrane makes an effective barrier, particularly against the movement
of water-soluble molecules and ions, therefore preventing the aqueous contents
of the cell from escaping.
However, some exchange between the cell and its environment is essential.
Suggest why.
Exchange happens by four basic mechanisms: diffusion, osmosis, active and
bulk transport.

1. Diffusion and facilitated diffusion

• Diffusion is the net movement of molecules (or ions) from a region of
their higher concentration to a region of their lower concentration
• Molecules move down a concentration gradient
• Happens due to the kinetic energy / random movement of molecules
• The rate at which a substance can diffuse across a cell membrane depends on:
• The difference in concentration of the substance on each side of the
membrane, i.e. the steepness of the concentration gradient
 •The temperature. Diffusion happens faster at higher temperatures
•The surface area; the thinner the surface, the faster the diffusion
•The nature of the molecules. Large molecules need more energy to move
them so tend to diffuse more slowly. Non-polar molecules diffuse faster as
they are soluble in the phospholipid tails
•The respiratory gases, oxygen and carbon dioxide, cross membranes by
diffusion. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are uncharged and non-polar, so cross
quickly as they are small enough to pass between phospholipid molecules. Large
polar molecules, such as glucose and amino acids, cannot diffuse through the
phospholipid bilayer.
•Ions can only cross the cell membrane by passing through hydrophilic channels
created by protein molecules. This is called facilitated diffusion
•The rate of diffusion depends on how many appropriate channels there are in the
membrane, and whether or not they are open
•Like ordinary diffusion, movement of molecules is entirely passive and no energy
is required
2. Osmosis
• A special type of diffusion involving water molecules only
• The diffusion of water molecules down their concentration gradient across a
partially permeable membrane
Osmosis is a type of simple diffusion in which water molecules diffuse through a
selectively permeable membrane from areas of high water concentration to areas of lower
water concentration. (Note that the more particles there are dissolved in a solution, the less
water there is in it, so osmosis is sometimes described as the diffusion of water from areas
of low solute concentration to areas of high solute concentration).

•Osmotic pressure is the pressure that causes the diffusion of water through semi-
permeable membranes. It increases due to an increase in the concentration of solutes in the
solution.
•There are three types of osmosis solutions: the isotonic solution, hypotonic solution, and
hypertonic solution.
•An isotonic solution is when the solute concentration is balanced with the concentration
inside the cell. In an isotonic solution, the water movement still moves between the
solution, but the rates are the same in both directions, thus the water movement is balanced
between the inside of the cell and the outside of the cell.
•A hypotonic solution is when the solute concentration is lower than the concentration
inside the cell. In a hypotonic solution, the water moves into the cell and can cause the cell
to swell; cells that don’t have a cell wall, such as animal cells, could explode in this type of
solution.
•A hypertonic solution is when the solute concentration is higher than the concentration
inside the cell. In a hypertonic solution, the water moves out of the cell and causes the cell
to shrivel.
•The tendency of water molecules to move from one place to another is known as
water potential, represented by the Greek letter ψ (psi).
•Water always moves from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower
water potential
•Pure water has a water potential of zero (the highest possible water potential)
•The effect of solutes is to lower the water potential, so the water potential of
solutions is less than zero, that is negative
•The more solute, the more concentrated a solution is and the more negative
(lower) the water potential
•The amount that the solute molecules lower the water potential of a solution is
called the solute potential.
•Solute potential is always negative, and represented as ψS.
•Increasing the pressure can increase the water potential. This is known as the
pressure potential ψp. The greater the pressure applied, the greater the tendency
for the water molecules to move from one place to another. The pressure potential
makes the water potential less negative and is therefore positive.
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. The plant cell is said to have become ‘turgid’, i.e. swollen and hard. The
pressure inside the cell rises until this internal pressure is equal to the pressure outside.
This liquid (or hydrostatic pressure called ‘turgor pressure’) prevents the further net intake
of water.
•Turgidity is very important to plants as it helps with the maintenance of rigidity and
stability of plant tissue and, as each cell exerts a turgor pressure on its neighbour, it
creates plant tissue tension which allows the green parts of the plant to ‘stand up’ into the
sunlight.
•When a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, the water from inside the cell‘s
cytoplasm diffuses out and the plant cell is said to have become ‘flaccid’. If the plant cell
is then observed under a microscopic, it will be noticed that the cytoplasm has shrunk and
pulled away from the cell wall. This phenomenon is called plasmolysis. The process is
reversed as soon as the cells are transferred into a hypotonic solution (deplasmolysis).
•When a plant cell is placed in an isotonic solution, a phenomenon called ‘incipient
plasmolysis’ is said to occur. ‘Incipient’ means ‘about to be’. Although the cell is not
plasmolsysed, it is not turgid either. When this happens, the green parts of the plant droop
and are unable to hold the leaves up in the sunlight.
Effects of Osmosis on Animal Cells
Effects of osmosis in animal cells
•Animal cells do not have cell walls so, in hypotonic solutions, animal cells swell up and
explode. They cannot become turgid because there is no cell wall to prevent the cell from
bursting. When the cell is in danger of bursting, organelles called contractile vacuoles will
pump water out of the cell to prevent this from happening.
•In hypertonic solutions, water diffuses out of the cell due to osmosis and the cell shrinks.
Thus, the animal cell always has to be surrounded by an isotonic solution. In the human
body, the kidneys provide the necessary regulatory mechanism for the blood plasma. The
concentration of water and salt removed from the blood by the kidneys is controlled by a
part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The process of regulating the concentration of
water and mineral salts in the blood is called osmoregulation.
•Animals that live on dry land must conserve water, as do animals that live in salty sea
water. Animals that live in freshwater have the opposite problem; they must get rid of
excess water as fast as it enters into their bodies by osmosis.
3. Active Transport
• If the concentration of particular ions, such as potassium and chloride, inside
cells is often 10-20 times more concentrated inside than outside.
• Diffusion cannot be responsible as ions accumulate against a concentration
gradient. This is called active transport, and requires energy (supplied by
the molecule ATP)
• It’s achieved by special intrinsic membrane proteins called transport
proteins, each specific for a particular molecule or ion

• Molecules bind with a

receptor site on one side of
the membrane, which
causes the protein to either
move within the membrane
or change shape (a
conformational change) so
that the molecule is carried
across the membrane and
released on the other side
•Active transport can be defined as the energy-consuming transport of
molecules or ions across a membrane against a concentration gradient (from
a lower to higher concentration) made possible by transferring energy from
respiration. It can occur into or out of the cell
•A good example of active transport is the sodium potassium pump, which exists
in most cell membranes. It actively removes sodium ions from cells, while pumping
potassium ions into the cell.
4. Bulk transport (energy-consuming)
• Mechanisms for the transport of large quantities of material into cells
(endocytosis) or out of cells (exocytosis).
• Endocytosis involves the engulfing of material by the plasma membrane to
form a small sac, or endocytic vacuole. It takes two forms:
• Phagocytosis (‘cell eating’) – bulk uptake of solid material. Vacuoles are
called phagocytic vacuoles. Specialist cells are called phagocytes.
E.g. the engulfing of bacteria by white blood cells
• Pinocytosis (‘cell drinking’) – bulk uptake of liquid. Vacuoles are called
vesicles

• Exocytosis is the reverse, and

the way materials are removed
from the cell. E.g. the secretion
of digestive enzymes from cells
of the pancreas. Secretory
vesicles carry the enzymes to the
cell surface and release their
contents
 Questions

1.(a) List three substances that need to be transported into all kinds of animal cells, in
order for them to survive.
(b) List two substances that need to be transported out of animal cells, in order for them
to survive.

2. Describe in general terms the energy requirements of passive and active transport.

3. Explain what is meant by a partially permeable membrane.

4. Describe what would happen to an animal cell (e.g. a red blood cell) if it was placed
into:
(a)Pure water
(b)A hypertonic (concentrated) solution
(c)A hypotonic (dilute) solution

5. What is the difference between phagocytosis and pinocytosis?

6. Identify the processes by which the following substances enter a living macrophage:
(a)Oxygen
(b)Cellular debris
(c)Water
(d)Glucose