Lab No (1)

Osmosis
Structural components of the cell (fig. 1, 2, 3):
3.5.1 Plasma Membrane: the plasma membrane is a
partially permeable thin molecular layer that surrounds
all living cells. The plasma membrane has three basic
functions: (1) separates the cell from its surroundings (=
a barrier keeping the constituents of the cell in and
unwanted substances out; (2) protects it from changes
in the chemical and physical environment and regulates
the traffic of molecules into and out of the cell (= a gate
allowing transport into the cell of essential nutrients and
movement from the cell of waste products; and (3) a
check barrier distinguishing self- from non-self (foreign)
molecules.
Structure (fig. 4): The plasma membrane
is composed primarily of two types of
moleculesphospholipids, and
proteins. The basic structural framework
of the plasma membrane is formed by two
sheets of lipids, each sheet a single
molecule thick. Within this bilayer, of
lipids, the protein
molecules are embedded. Proteins are
responsible for a host of functions, including
transporting substances across the membrane,
aiding communication between cells, and
carrying out chemical reactions. A phospholipid
molecule has a head region at one end that is
hydrophilic (= water loving i.e. it can mix with
water). At the other end, are two long tails that
are hydrophobic (= water hating i.e. they do
not mix well with water).
In the plasma membranes bilayer construction,
phospholipid molecules are arranged so that their
hydrophilic heads point outward on either side of the
membrane, and their hydrophobic tails point toward each
other in the middle of the membrane. This orientation
keeps the hydrophobic tails away from the watery fluids
that both fill and surround living cells. In fact, the plasma
membrane stays intact precisely because the
phospholipid molecules strongly resist any change in
configuration that would expose their hydrophobic tails to
the watery environment. The plasma membrane as a
whole is a fluid structure because phospholipid
molecules and some proteins can move sideways within
the membrane. In one second, a single phospholipid
molecule can travel several micrometers (m).
Proteins drift more slowly through the membrane. With
protein molecules scattered among the phospholipid
molecules, the plasma membrane appears to be a
mosaic of phospholipids and proteins. Some of the
proteins (extrinsic = peripheral proteins) are found on the
inner or outer surface of the plasma membrane, while
others (intrinsic = integral proteins) span the membrane
and protrude on either end. Scientists refer to this
concept of the plasma membranes structure as the fluid
mosaic model. Cholesterol also contributes to the
fluidity of the plasma membrane.
Cholesterol is a small lipid molecule that nestles among
the hydrophobic tails of the phospholipids in the interior
of the membrane. It prevents phospholipid molecules
from packing together too tightly and making the
membrane rigid. It also acts as antifreeze for the
plasma membrane, preventing the membrane from
freezing to a jellylike consistency at low temperatures.
The lipid and protein molecules that make up the plasma
membrane are manufactured inside the cell and routed
to the cell surface. The membrane is a dynamic
structure, with molecules constantly being added to and
removed from the plasma membrane as a cell moves
and grows.
. Function:
Transport: Only a very few molecules (such as
fat soluble substances) can pass directly through
the lipid bilayer to get from one side of the
membrane to the other. Many substances that a
cell needs in order to survive cannot cross the
lipid bilayer on their own, including glucose,
amino acids, and ions, such as sodium [Na+]
and potassium [K+]. Molecules pass across the
plasma membrane by the following
mechanisms:
Passive transport: Passive transport is accomplished
by diffusion, the spontaneous movement of a
substance from a region of greater concentration to
a region of lesser concentration. The difference
between the concentrations of a substance in two
different areas is known as a concentration gradient
(fig. 5). Diffusion moves molecules down a concentration
gradient in a manner that does not require the cell to
expend energy. Water, oxygen, carbon dioxide,
ammonia, and a few other small molecules diffuse
directly across the plasma membrane by passing
between phospholipid molecules.
Passage of solvents molecules (water) across
the plasma membrane is special case of
diffusion usually referred to as osmosis (fig. 6 &
7). Substances that cannot pass directly through
the plasma membrane diffuse into or out of cells
with the aid of hollow, channel-like proteins in a
process known as facilitated diffusion (fig. 8).
These channel proteins are shaped so that
only one substance, or a small group of closely
related substances, can pass through each type
of protein. This specificity enables a cell to
control precisely the molecules that travel in and
out of the cell.
Active transport: = passage of molecules across the
plasma membrane in a direction not predictable from
their concentrations on either side of the membrane,
and the cell must spend energy. Active transport (fig 9)
is achieved by membrane proteins called pumps,
which have a site that is shaped to fit a specific
substance. These pumps are open on either the inside
or the outside of the cell membrane. When the proper
molecule or ion attaches to this site, the pump changes
shape so that the site moves its opening to the other
side of the plasma membrane, releasing the molecular
load. Many pumps obtain the energy necessary to
perform this work from adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a
molecule that serves as the main energy currency of
living cells.
Cytosis (fig. 10): = transport of large
molecules or particulates in membrane-
bound vacuoles in and out of cells. This
includes:
Endocytosis: in endocytosis, the plasma
membrane folds inward, forming a pouch that
traps molecules. The pouch continues to press
inward until it forms a closed sac that breaks
loose from the plasma membrane and sinks into
the cell. Note that the molecule does not actually
cross the plasma membrane. A distinction is
usually made between two types:
Pinocytosis = the ingestion of fluid with contained
dissolved molecules into a cell by turning a portion
of the cell membrane inwards to form a vesicle
that is then pinched off to form an internal vesicle.
Phagocytosis = the ingestion into a cell in
a membranous sac the microorganisms
or other small insoluble particles that the
cell has engulfed in order to digest or
destroy them.
Exocytosis: is a reversal of endocytosis. In reverse
pinocytosis ( secretion) a sac (= vesicle) inside the cell
containing proteins and other molecules moves toward
the outer edge of the cell until it touches the plasma
membrane. The membrane of the sac then joins with the
plasma membrane, and the contents of the sac are
released from the cell. Most of the proteins released by
animal cells, such as hormones and antibodies, exit
the cells where they are made through exocytosis. A cell
egests solid insoluble waste by a process opposite to
phagocytosis.