Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions

Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions

A number of natural and synthetic materials exhibit selective permeation, meaning that only molecules or ions of a certain size, shape, polarity, charge, and so forth, are capable of passing through (permeating) the material. Biological cell membranes provide elegant examples of selective permeation in nature, while dialysis tubing used to remove metabolic wastes from blood is a more simplistic technological example. Regardless of how they may be fabricated, these materials are generally...

Osmotic Pressure

Osmotic Pressure

Osmosis is a process where solvent molecules move toward a solution through a semipermeable membrane. As the solution dilutes due to the entry of solvent, it expands. This expansion increases the hydrostatic pressure of the solution. When the hydrostatic pressure equals the osmotic pressure, osmosis stops.Osmotic pressure, denoted by Π, is the minimum pressure needed to prevent the solvent from passing into the solution by osmosis. The van 't Hoff equation calculates the osmotic pressure of an...

Osmosis

Osmosis

Approximately 60% to 95% of the weight of living organisms is attributed to water. Therefore, maintaining appropriate water balance within cells is of paramount importance. Osmosis is the movement of water across a semipermeable membrane, such as a cell’s plasma membrane. In living organisms, water plays a crucial role as a solvent—a molecule that dissolves other molecules.Diffusion Versus OsmosisBoth diffusion and osmosis are types of passive transport—cellular transport that does not require...

Osmosis

Osmosis

Osmosis is the movement of free water molecules through a semipermeable membrane. The water's concentration gradient across the membrane is inversely proportional to the solutes' concentration. Whereas diffusion transports material across membranes and within cells, osmosis transports only water across a membrane, and the membrane limits the diffusion of solutes in the water. Osmosis is a special case of diffusion.
Water, like other substances, moves from a high concentration of free water...

Chemiosmosis

Chemiosmosis

Oxidative phosphorylation is a highly efficient process that generates large amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the basic unit of energy that drives many cellular processes. Oxidative phosphorylation involves two processes— the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis.
Electron Transport Chain
The electron transport chain involves a series of protein complexes on the inner mitochondrial membrane that undergo a series of redox reactions. At the end of this chain, the electrons reduce...

What Are Osmoregulation and Excretion?

What Are Osmoregulation and Excretion?

Organisms must keep bodily fluids at a constant temperature and pH while maintaining specific solute concentrations in order to support life functions. Osmoregulation is the process that balances solute and water levels.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Bi-ionic potentials across liquid anion exchanger membranes.

The Journal of membrane biology·2013

Same author

Improved methods of preparation of permselective collodion membranes combining extreme ionic selectivity with high permeability.

The Journal of physical chemistry·2010

Same author

Improved methods of preparation of electropositive permselective protamine collodion membranes.

The Journal of physical chemistry·2010

Same author

The electrochemistry of permselective collodion membranes; rate studies on the establishment of the concentration potential across various types of permselective collodion membranes.

The Journal of physical chemistry·2010

Same author

The electrochemistry of permselective collodion membranes; experimental studies on the concentration potential across various types of permselective collodion membranes with solutions of several electrolytes.

The Journal of physical and colloid chemistry·2010

Same author

THE STRUCTURE OF THE COLLODION MEMBRANE AND ITS ELECTRICAL BEHAVIOR : I. THE BEHAVIOR AND PROPERTIES OF COMMERCIAL COLLODION.

The Journal of general physiology·2009

Same journal

Conformational changes upon pore blocker removal reveal conductive states of TMEM16A.

The Journal of general physiology·2026

Same journal

On the mechanism of hypomagnesemia with treatment-resistant seizures caused by variants of the Na+,K+-ATPase α1 subunit (ATP1A1).

The Journal of general physiology·2026

Same journal

Label-free real-time imaging of mitochondrial matrix volume changes and permeability transition in living cells.

The Journal of general physiology·2026

Same journal

Differential regulation of β1-dependent voltage shifts and kinetic modulation by an extracellular glutamate in NaV1.6 VSDIV.

The Journal of general physiology·2026

Same journal

Mechanistic insights into DCPIB inhibition of VRAC: Electrostatic control and binding plasticity.

The Journal of general physiology·2026

Same journal

An epilepsy-associated KV3.1 potassium channel variant acts via dominant-positive effect.

The Journal of general physiology·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis

Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis

Published on: February 19, 2018

NEW EXPERIMENTS ON ANOMALOUS OSMOSIS.

K Sollner¹, I Abrams

¹Department of Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

The Journal of General Physiology

|October 30, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers found that Loeb

More Related Videos

Real-time Iontophoresis with Tetramethylammonium to Quantify Volume Fraction and Tortuosity of Brain Extracellular Space

Real-time Iontophoresis with Tetramethylammonium to Quantify Volume Fraction and Tortuosity of Brain Extracellular Space

Published on: July 24, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis

Monitoring the Effect of Osmotic Stress on Secretory Vesicles and Exocytosis

Published on: February 19, 2018

Real-time Iontophoresis with Tetramethylammonium to Quantify Volume Fraction and Tortuosity of Brain Extracellular Space

Real-time Iontophoresis with Tetramethylammonium to Quantify Volume Fraction and Tortuosity of Brain Extracellular Space

Published on: July 24, 2017

Area of Science:

Physical Chemistry
Membrane Science

Background:

Anomalous osmosis is a phenomenon observed with semipermeable membranes.
Previous studies by Loeb reported specific observations on anomalous osmosis using collodion membranes.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the reproducibility of Loeb's anomalous osmosis observations.
To identify factors influencing anomalous osmotic effects in collodion membranes.

Main Methods:

Preparation of collodion membranes with varying purity levels.
Activation of inactive membranes using sodium hypobromite (NaOBr) solution.
Observation and quantification of osmotic effects.

Main Results:

Pure collodion membranes did not exhibit anomalous osmosis.
Collodion membranes containing acidic impurities showed positive anomalous osmotic effects.
Oxidation of inactive membranes with NaOBr activated them, leading to enhanced anomalous osmotic effects.

Conclusions:

The presence of acidic impurities is crucial for observing Loeb's anomalous osmosis.
Membrane oxidation is a viable method to enhance anomalous osmotic effects.
Reproducible and amplified anomalous osmosis can be achieved with properly treated membranes.