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Related Concept Videos

The Significance of Membrane Transport01:44

The Significance of Membrane Transport

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The transport of solutes across the cell membrane is essential for metabolic processes, like maintaining cell size and volume, generating the action potential, exchanging nutrients and gases, etc. Membrane transport can be either passive or active. It can be simple diffusion, facilitated, or mediated transport aided by transport proteins such as transporters and channels.
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
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Primary Active Transport01:29

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In contrast to passive transport, active transport involves a substance being moved through membranes in a direction against its concentration or electrochemical gradient. There are two types of active transport: primary active transport and secondary active transport. Primary active transport utilizes chemical energy from ATP to drive protein pumps embedded in the cell membrane. With energy from ATP, the pumps transport ions against their electrochemical gradients—a direction they would...
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Primary Active Transport01:47

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In contrast to passive transport, active transport involves a substance being moved through membranes in a direction against its concentration or electrochemical gradient. There are two types of active transport: primary active transport and secondary active transport. Primary active transport utilizes chemical energy from ATP to drive protein pumps that are embedded in the cell membrane. With energy from ATP, the pumps transport ions against their electrochemical gradients—a direction...
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The ER, Golgi apparatus, endosomes, and lysosomes work in tandem to modify, sort, and package proteins and lipids. An integrated membrane trafficking network facilitates the back and forth shuttling of molecules within different organelles in the same cell or across the cell membrane.
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The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles01:43

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In eukaryotic cells,  cytoskeletal filaments such as actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments form a mesh-like cytoskeletal network. These filaments serve as tracks for transporting cellular cargo. Specialized motor proteins use the chemical energy stored in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for this transport. During interphase, microtubules are polarized, with the plus-end towards the cell periphery and the minus-end towards the cell center. Two microtubule-associated motor proteins,...
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The translocon complex situated on the ER membrane is the main gateway for the protein secretory pathway. It facilitates the transport of nascent peptides into the ER lumen and their insertion into the ER membrane.
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Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution
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Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution

Published on: August 16, 2016

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Molecular machines open cell membranes.

Víctor García-López1,2, Fang Chen3, Lizanne G Nilewski1,2

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.

Nature
|September 1, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Molecular machines drill through cell membranes using nanomechanical action, enabling controlled substance delivery and cell death. This physical method offers new possibilities for biomedical applications beyond current chemical strategies.

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Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence TIRF Microscopy
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Light-driven Molecular Motors on Surfaces for Single Molecular Imaging
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Light-driven Molecular Motors on Surfaces for Single Molecular Imaging

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution
11:55

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution

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Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence TIRF Microscopy
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Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence TIRF Microscopy

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Light-driven Molecular Motors on Surfaces for Single Molecular Imaging
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Light-driven Molecular Motors on Surfaces for Single Molecular Imaging

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Nanotechnology
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • Physical techniques like electric fields, temperature, and ultrasound are used to manipulate cell membranes for compound delivery or cell death induction.
  • Molecular motors and switches offer controlled conformational changes for mechanical actions in biomedical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate that molecular machines can create holes in cellular bilayers via nanomechanical action.
  • To explore the use of molecular machines for controlled substance diffusion, cell death induction, and targeted delivery.

Main Methods:

  • Adsorbing designed molecular motors onto lipid bilayers and activating them with ultraviolet light.
  • Utilizing nanomechanical action to induce diffusion of chemical species from synthetic vesicles.
  • Introducing traceable molecular machines into live cells and inducing necrosis or chemical delivery.

Main Results:

  • Molecular machines successfully drilled holes in cell membranes upon UV activation.
  • Demonstrated controlled diffusion of chemical species out of and into cells.
  • Showcased selective targeting of cell-surface sites using peptide-modified molecular machines.
  • Induced necrosis in live cells through nanomechanical action.

Conclusions:

  • Molecular machines can effectively breach cellular bilayers using nanomechanical action.
  • This physical approach provides a novel method for intracellular and intercellular substance exchange.
  • Future development may enable in vivo applications with advanced activation methods.