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Related Concept Videos

Diffusion01:12

Diffusion

217.8K
Diffusion is the passive movement of substances down their concentration gradients—requiring no expenditure of cellular energy. Substances, such as molecules or ions, diffuse from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration in the cytosol or across membranes. Eventually, the concentration will even out, with the substance moving randomly but causing no net change in concentration. Such a state is called dynamic equilibrium, which is essential for maintaining overall...
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Diffusion01:21

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Diffusion is a type of passive transport. In passive transport, a substance tends to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until the concentration is equal across the space. For example, take the diffusion of substances through the air. When someone opens a perfume bottle in a room filled with people, the perfume is at its highest concentration in the bottle and is at its lowest at the edges of the room. The perfume vapor will diffuse, or spread away, from the...
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Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

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Proteins show rotational as well as lateral diffusion across the membrane. The lateral diffusion of proteins was confirmed through the cell fusion experiment where mouse and human cells were fused, resulting in hybrid cells. When the human and mouse cells fused, the specific membrane proteins on human and mouse cells were marked with the red and green-fluorescent markers, respectively. Initially, the red and green fluorescence was located on the respective hemisphere of the cell. As time...
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Membrane Lipids01:32

Membrane Lipids

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Lipids are an essential component of all biological membranes. The average lipid content in mammalian membranes is 50%, though it can be as low as 20% in the inner mitochondrial membrane or as high as 80% in the myelin sheath present around the nerve cells.
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What are Lipids?01:38

What are Lipids?

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Overview
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Structure of Lipids03:38

Structure of Lipids

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Lipids include a diverse group of compounds that are largely nonpolar in nature. This is because they are hydrocarbons that include mostly nonpolar carbon-carbon or carbon-hydrogen bonds. Non-polar molecules are hydrophobic (“water fearing”), or insoluble in water. Lipids perform many different functions in a cell. Cells store energy for long-term use in the form of fats. Lipids also provide insulation from the environment for plants and animals. For example, they help keep aquatic...
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Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
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Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

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Controlling Anomalous Diffusion in Lipid Membranes.

Helena L E Coker1, Matthew R Cheetham1, Daniel R Kattnig2

  • 1Department of Chemistry, King's College London, London, United Kingdom; Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Biophysical Journal
|March 9, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a new model system to study anomalous diffusion in cell membranes. By controlling lipid mixtures, they precisely mimicked membrane diffusion behaviors, offering insights into biological transport mechanisms.

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Area of Science:

  • Membrane Biophysics
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Cell membrane diffusion is often anomalous, deviating from simple Brownian motion.
  • The precise physical origins and controllable models for this anomalous subdiffusion remain a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To create a model system for controlled and quantitative study of anomalous diffusion.
  • To investigate the relationship between membrane properties and diffusion dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized supported lipid bilayers with polyethylene glycol (PEG) derivatized lipids.
  • Controlled bilayer excluded area fraction via PEG lipid mole fraction.
  • Employed single-molecule fluorescence and interferometric imaging to measure diffusion over four orders of magnitude in time.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that anomalous diffusion can be induced by controlling PEG lipid concentration, altering bilayer continuity.
  • Observed that diffusion in these model bilayers follows a power-law relationship with observation time.
  • Achieved tunable anomalous diffusion parameters comparable to those in biological membranes.

Conclusions:

  • Supported lipid bilayers with tunable PEG lipid content provide a robust model for studying anomalous diffusion.
  • This system allows for precise control and measurement of diffusion dynamics relevant to biological membranes.
  • Offers a platform to resolve the physical origins of anomalous subdiffusion in cellular environments.