1.4 Membrane Transport Flashcards
what two key qualities do cellular membrane? (2)
- they are semi-permeable -> certain materials may freely cross (large and charged substances are typically blocked)
- they are selective (membrane proteins may regulate the passage of material that cannot freely cross)
what two ways can the movement of material crossing the biological membrane be?
active
passive
what is passive transport?
involves the movement of material along a concentration gradient (high concentration -> low concentration)
why do materials not require energy expenditure (ATP hydrolysis) for passive transport?
because materials are moving down a concentration gradient
what are three main types of passive transport?
- simple diffusion - movement of small or lipophilic molecules (eg. O2, CO2)
- osmosis - movement of water molecules (dependent on solute concentration)
- facilitated diffusion - movement of large or charged molecules via membrane proteins (eg. ions, sucrose)
what is active transport?
the movement of materials against a concentration gradient (low concentration -> high concentration)
why does active transport require the expenditure of energy (eg. ATP hydrolysis)?
materials are moving against the gradient
what are the 2 main types of active transport?
- primary (direct) active transport - involves to direct use of metabolic energy to mediate transport
- secondary (indirect) active transport - involves coupling the molecule with another moving along an electrochemical gradient
what is diffusion and what are its characteristics? (30
- the net movement of molecules from a region of high concentrations to a region of low concentrations
- the directional movement along a gradient is passive and will continue until molecules become evenly dispersed equilibrium)
- small and non-polar (lipophilic) molecules will be able to freely diffuse across cell membranes
what three things can influence the rate of diffusion?
- temperature (affect kinetic energy of particles in solution)
- molecular size (larger particles are subjected to greater resistance within a fluid medium)
- steepness of gradient (rate of diffusion will be greater with a higher concentration gradient)
what is osmosis?
the net movement of water molecules across a semi-permeable membrane from a region of low solute concentration to a region of high solute concentration (until equilibrium is reached)
why is water considered the universal solvent?
it will associate with and dissolve, polar or charged molecules (solutes)
why are there less free water molecules in high solute concentrations?
as water is associated with the solute
what is osmolarity?
the measure of solute concentrations as defined by the number of osmoles of a solute per litre of solution (osmol/L)
what would a hypertonic solution be?
solutions with a relatively higher osmolarity
(high solute concentration -> gains water)
what would a hypotonic solution be?
solutions with a relatively lower osmolarity
(low solute concentration -> loses water)
what would an isotonic solution be?
solutions that have the same osmolarity
(same solute concentration -> no net water flow)
how can you estimate/interpolate the osmolarity of a tissue? (3 step)
- tissue will lose water when placed in hypertonic solutions and gain water when placed in hypotonic solutions
- water loss or gain may be determined by weighing samples before and after bathing in solution
- tissue osmolarity may be inferred by identifying the concentration of solution at which there is not weight change
what kind of solution should tissues and organs be kept in for medical procedures to prevent cellular edssication?
solution must share the same osmolarity as the tissue/organ (ie. isotonic) to prevent osmosis from occurring
what 2 negative effects can uncontrolled osmosis have to cell viability?
- in hypertonic solutions water will leave the cell causing it to shrivel (crenation)
- in hypotonic solutions, water will enter the cell causing it to swell and potentially burst (lysis)