Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Diffusion01:12

Diffusion

194.3K
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...
194.3K
Behavior of Gas Molecules: Molecular Diffusion, Mean Free Path, and Effusion03:48

Behavior of Gas Molecules: Molecular Diffusion, Mean Free Path, and Effusion

29.1K
Although gaseous molecules travel at tremendous speeds (hundreds of meters per second), they collide with other gaseous molecules and travel in many different directions before reaching the desired target. At room temperature, a gaseous molecule will experience billions of collisions per second. The mean free path is the average distance a molecule travels between collisions. The mean free path increases with decreasing pressure; in general, the mean free path for a gaseous molecule will be...
29.1K
Passive Diffusion: Overview and Kinetics01:17

Passive Diffusion: Overview and Kinetics

581
Passive diffusion is a critical process that allows small lipophilic drugs to cross the cell membrane along a concentration gradient. This mechanism's efficiency depends on four primary factors: the membrane's surface area, the drug's lipid-water partition coefficient, the concentration gradient, and the membrane's thickness.
When administered orally, drugs establish a substantial concentration gradient between the gastrointestinal (GI) lumen and the bloodstream, expediting...
581
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane01:24

Protein Diffusion in the Membrane

4.5K
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...
4.5K
Diffusion on Chromatography Columns01:07

Diffusion on Chromatography Columns

616
In column chromatography, when an analyte is introduced as a narrow band at the top of the column, the solutes begin to separate and broaden, developing a Gaussian profile. This broadening occurs due to various factors, such as longitudinal diffusion.
Longitudinal diffusion occurs when the solute molecules in the mobile phase diffuse from the more concentrated center of the chromatographic band to the more dilute regions on either side, both towards and against the flow direction. This...
616
Facilitated Transport01:19

Facilitated Transport

128.6K
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...
128.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Hydrophobic Promoter-Enhanced Tandem Catalysis for Alkene Epoxidation With H<sub>2</sub> and O<sub>2</sub>.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same author

Conjugation-induced π-electron modulation in pyridazine-integrated covalent organic frameworks for SO<sub>2</sub> capture and upcycling.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Confinement-Driven Anomalous Behaviors for Diffusion in Zeolites: Mechanisms and Beyond.

Accounts of chemical research·2026
Same author

Edge Sulfur Vacancies on MoS<sub>2</sub> Enable Room-Temperature Hydrodeoxygenation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same author

Unveiling the role of local temperature gradients in individual zeolites containing metal active sites.

Chemical science·2026
Same author

Unmasking true confinement effects: ultrahigh linear selectivity and chain-length oscillatory behavior in zeolite-encapsulated rhodium hydroformylation.

National science review·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 5, 2025

Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells
05:56

Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells

Published on: November 12, 2020

2.8K

Hyperloop-like diffusion of long-chain molecules under confinement.

Jiamin Yuan1,2, Mingbin Gao3, Zhiqiang Liu4

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, People's Republic of China.

Nature Communications
|March 28, 2023
PubMed
Summary

Scientists discovered that long-chain molecules move faster in smaller nano-channels, challenging previous assumptions about confined spaces inhibiting motion. This "hyperloop-like" diffusion in zeolites offers insights for industrial catalysis.

More Related Videos

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
10:43

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

Published on: July 19, 2022

2.4K
A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA
12:05

A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA

Published on: October 1, 2017

8.2K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 5, 2025

Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells
05:56

Spot Variation Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy for Analysis of Molecular Diffusion at the Plasma Membrane of Living Cells

Published on: November 12, 2020

2.8K
Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
10:43

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes

Published on: July 19, 2022

2.4K
A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA
12:05

A Simple, Robust, and High Throughput Single Molecule Flow Stretching Assay Implementation for Studying Transport of Molecules Along DNA

Published on: October 1, 2017

8.2K

Area of Science:

  • Physical Chemistry
  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Ultrafast transport of molecules in confined spaces is a key scientific goal.
  • Typically, diffusion is slower in nano-channels due to inhibited molecular motion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of pore size on molecular transport in confined environments.
  • To explore mechanisms promoting faster diffusion in nano-channels.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized zeolites with nano-channels as a model system.
  • Conducted diffusion experiments to observe molecular movement.
  • Analyzed the behavior of long-chain versus short-chain molecules.

Main Results:

  • Observed increased movement of long-chain molecules with decreasing pore size.
  • Identified a
  • hyperloop-like
  • linear and central pathway diffusion for long-chain molecules.
  • Found this phenomenon absent in short-chain molecules.

Conclusions:

  • Confined spaces can promote, rather than inhibit, transport for specific molecular types.
  • Long-chain molecules exhibit unique "hyperloop-like" diffusion in nano-channels.
  • Findings provide insights for selecting efficient catalysts for rapid transport in industrial applications.