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Related Concept Videos

Facilitated Diffusion01:16

Facilitated Diffusion

The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In  facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a membrane via...
Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In  facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a membrane via...
Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

The chemical and physical properties of plasma membranes cause them to be selectively permeable. Since plasma membranes have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions, substances need to be able to transverse both regions. The hydrophobic area of membranes repels substances such as charged ions. Therefore, such substances need special membrane proteins to cross a membrane successfully. In  facilitated transport, also known as facilitated diffusion, molecules and ions travel across a membrane via...
Drug Absorption Mechanism: Carrier-Mediated Membrane Transport01:19

Drug Absorption Mechanism: Carrier-Mediated Membrane Transport

Certain large, lipid-insoluble drug molecules that resemble amino acids, peptides, or glucose, require specialized carrier proteins to facilitate their diffusion across cell membranes. This transport can occur through either facilitated diffusion, which does not require energy input, or active transport, which does require energy input.
Facilitated diffusion is a passive process that utilizes human Solute Carrier (SLC) transporters. These transporters bind to the drug, undergo structural...
Physiological Pharmacokinetic Models: Blood Flow-Limited Versus Diffusion-Limited Models00:57

Physiological Pharmacokinetic Models: Blood Flow-Limited Versus Diffusion-Limited Models

Physiological pharmacokinetic models, often called flow-limited or perfusion models, typically assume a swift drug distribution between tissue and venous blood, creating a rapid drug equilibrium. This premise is based on the idea that drug diffusion is extremely fast, and the cell membrane presents no barrier to drug permeation. In this scenario, where no drug binding occurs, the drug concentration in the tissue equals that of the venous blood leaving the tissue. This greatly simplifies the...

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Updated: May 14, 2026

A Method for Determination and Simulation of Permeability and Diffusion in a 3D Tissue Model in a Membrane Insert System for Multi-well Plates
10:33

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Published on: February 23, 2018

In vivo facilitated diffusion model.

Maximilian Bauer1, Ralf Metzler

  • 1Institute of Physics and Astronomy, Potsdam University, Potsdam-Golm, Germany.

Plos One
|January 26, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Transcription factors use facilitated diffusion to find DNA targets in cells. This study models the process in vivo, confirming its efficiency for gene regulation in bacteria.

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Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • Transcription factors (TFs) locate specific DNA sequences using facilitated diffusion in vitro.
  • The efficacy of this mechanism within the crowded cellular environment remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To model the in vivo target search of TFs using facilitated diffusion within a bacterial cell.
  • To determine the mean search time of a lac repressor in a living E. coli cell.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a semi-analytical model for in vivo TF target search.
  • Incorporation of experimentally derived parameters for a lac repressor in E. coli.
  • Analysis of TF search dynamics within a simplified bacterial genome model.

Main Results:

  • The facilitated diffusion model accurately predicts the mean search time for the lac repressor in vivo.
  • TF search time is robust to variations in DNA configuration parameters.
  • Bacterial cells appear optimized for TF target localization.

Conclusions:

  • Facilitated diffusion is a quantitatively valid model for gene regulation in living bacteria.
  • Cellular conditions support efficient TF target localization, operating near optimal parameters.
  • Local search mechanisms offer only minor acceleration to the overall mean search time.