Equilibria Between Cell Membranes and Electrolyte Solution: Effect of Fatal Accidental Hypothermia

Aneta D Petelska1, Joanna Kotyńska2, Monika Naumowicz2

  • 1Institute of Chemistry, University in Bialystok, K. Ciolkowskiego 1K, 15-245, Białystok, Poland. aneta@uwb.edu.pl.

Related Concept Videos

Non-equilibrium in the Cell01:16

Non-equilibrium in the Cell

An important concept in studying metabolism and energy is that of chemical equilibrium. Most chemical reactions are reversible. They can proceed in both directions, releasing energy into their environment in one direction, and absorbing it from the environment in the other direction. The same is true for the chemical reactions involved in cell metabolism, such as the breaking down and building up of proteins into and from individual amino acids, respectively. Reactants within a closed system...
5.6K
What is an Electrochemical Gradient?01:26

What is an Electrochemical Gradient?

Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, is considered the primary energy source in cells. However, energy can also be stored in the electrochemical gradient of an ion across the plasma membrane, which is determined by two factors: its chemical and electrical gradients.
The chemical gradient relies on differences in the abundance of a substance on the outside versus the inside of a cell and flows from areas of high to low ion concentration. In contrast, the electrical gradient revolves around an...
132.3K
Resting Potential Decay01:15

Resting Potential Decay

The resting membrane potential of a neuron (-70mV) is sustained due to the selective ion permeability of the membrane. At the resting potential, the membrane is slightly permeable to ions like sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) and highly permeable to potassium ions (K+). Differences in the ions' concentration inside the cell compared to the outside are maintained by membrane transport proteins like channels and pumps.
At rest, the K+ is the main ion that moves across the membrane...
6.7K
Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions02:40

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...
48.8K
Osmosis00:47

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.
204.7K
Osmosis01:30

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...
12.7K