Unit 1.3 - Cell Membranes And Transport Flashcards
(271 cards)
List the 6 functions of the cell membrane
-The boundary that separates the living cell from its non-living surroundings
-Cell recognition
-Controls which substances pass into and out of the cell
-Controls the uptake of nutrients
-Allows waste products to pass out of the cell
-Is responsible for secreting substances such as enzymes and glycoproteins
How does cell recognition work?
It’s to do with the surface pattern of the cell - The immune system recognises a parasite by scanning its surface pattern and immune system cells attack and destroy it for being a foreign cell
What is the cell membrane made up of?
Almost entirely phospholipids and proteins embedded
What can the phospholipids within the cell membrane do?
Form bilayers, with one sheet of phospholipid forming over another
What can the phospholipid bilayer be described as?
The basis of membrane structure
What is the basis of membrane structure?
The phospholipid bilayer
What type of molecules does the phospholipid bilayer allow to enter and leave the cell through the cell membrane?
Lipid soluble (non-polar) molecules (e.g - 02, C02)
Examples of lipid soluble (non-polar) molecules that the phospholipid bilayer allows to enter and leave the cell
02, C02
Describe the phosphate head of a phospholipid molecule
Hydrophillic (polar) - has an electrical charge
Is attracted to other polar molecules (e.g - water)
Describe the fatty acid tails of a phospholipid molecule
Hydrophobic (non-polar) = repels water
How do we know about the existence of the phospholipid bilayer?
By looking under an electron microscope (T.E.M. - transition electron microscope, that looks at a thin slice of cell) and adding a water soluble stain, we would see the hydrophilic parts accepting the stain and appearing as a stained dark layer, whereas each side of a hydrophobic layer would reject the stain and appear as an unstained white layer
What’s the name of the space between cells?
Intercellular space
Under what type of microscope would be see the staining of the hydrophobic and Hydrophilic parts of the phospholipid bilayer?
T.E.M - transition electron microscope
What does a T.E.M. (Transition electron microscope) look at?
A thin slice of cell
What is the diameter of the cell membrane and which type of microscope revealed this?
7-8nm
T.E.M (transition electron microscope)
What was one of the original structure theories of the cell membrane? How accurate was this?
A phospholipid bilayer with proteins on the outside -this theory is incorrect
What type of microscope and process allowed us to advance from the original theory of the proteins on top of the phospholipids structure?
S.E.M. (scanning electron microscope)
Freeze-fracture
S.E.M
Scanning electron microscope
A type of electron microscope that scans the surface with a focused beam of electrons to create a high resolution image
T.E.M meaning
Transition electron microscope
What has the S.E.M and freeze fracture allowed us to see?
That on the surface of the cell, protein molecules are embedded in the surface, not on it, as we’ve seen little bumps in the freeze-fracture image
Freeze fracture
To rapidly freeze the specimen and then crack it on a plane through the tissue
-Fractures occur on weak parts of the tissue such as membranes or organelle surfaces
On which parts of the tissue do fractures occur during freeze fracture?
Weak portions of the tissue such as membranes or organelle surfaces
Which model did the S.E.M and freeze fracture imaging lead to in terms of the structure of the cell membrane?
The fluid Mosaic model
Which scientists discovered the fluid mosaic model?
Singer and Nicholson