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Related Concept Videos

Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

16.0K
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...
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Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

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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...
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Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport01:17

Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport

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Pore transport and ion-pair formation are critical mechanisms for the absorption and distribution of drugs in the body.
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited  but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
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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.
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Transcellular Transport of Solutes01:23

Transcellular Transport of Solutes

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Transcellular transport of solutes is the movement of substances like monosaccharides and amino acids through polarized cells. This transport mechanism is primarily seen in epithelial and endothelial cells aided by membrane transport proteins such as channels and transporters. The tight junctions between these cells confine the membrane proteins to the two sides of the cell. The epithelial cells have distinct apical and basolateral domains. In contrast, the endothelial cells show the luminal...
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Ion Channels01:19

Ion Channels

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The movement of ions like sodium, potassium, and calcium into and out of the cell is essential to maintain the electrochemical gradient in living cells. The ion channels—a class of membrane transport proteins—help maintain this ionic gradient for the smooth functioning of physiological activities such as maintaining cell size and volume, conducting nerve impulses, and gas and nutrient exchange.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Membrane Transport Processes Analyzed by a Highly Parallel Nanopore Chip System at Single Protein Resolution
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Nonlinear material and ionic transport through membrane nanotubes.

D V Ivchenkov1, P I Kuzmin2, T R Galimzyanov2

  • 1Federal Research and Clinical Center of Physical-Chemical Medicine, Moscow 119435, Russia; Department of Molecular and Biological Physics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Institutskiy lane 9, Dolgoprudnyy, Moskow region 141700, Russia.

Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta. Biomembranes
|June 12, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Membrane nanotubes (NTs) dynamically change shape under transport forces, acting as tunable sensors. These soft nanotubes exhibit nonlinear behavior, offering potential for novel nanofluidic devices.

Keywords:
Electro-actuationMembrane elasticityMembrane nanotubeNanofluidic transportShape bistability

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Membrane nanotubes (NTs) are crucial for intracellular transport and communication, with lumen transport resembling nanopores.
  • Unlike rigid nanopores, NTs possess soft, deformable walls, creating a coupling between NT geometry and transport properties.
  • This NT geometry-transport coupling is poorly understood but vital for biological functions and potential applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dynamic shape changes of membrane nanotubes (NTs) under applied forces.
  • To explore the relationship between NT geometry, membrane properties, and transport phenomena.
  • To assess the potential of NTs as tunable sensors and nonlinear nanofluidic elements.

Main Methods:

  • Synchronized fluorescence microscopy to visualize NT shape dynamics.
  • Conductance measurements to monitor ionic and solute transport.
  • Application of electric and hydrostatic forces to induce and study transport-driven shape changes.

Main Results:

  • NT shape deformation was observed in response to electric and hydrostatic forces driving transport.
  • The force effect on NT shape was dependent on membrane tension and elasticity, enabling sensing capabilities.
  • Near shape instabilities, transport forces induced stochastic and periodic large-scale shape transformations.
  • Periodic oscillations coupled with vesicle passage mimicked peristaltic transport and were controlled by electric fields.

Conclusions:

  • Membrane nanotubes exhibit force-induced shape dynamics, acting as linear elastic sensors.
  • NTs function as highly nonlinear nanofluidic elements, with potential for biological and technological applications.
  • The interplay between NT geometry and transport offers new avenues for understanding cellular communication and designing advanced devices.