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Related Concept Videos

Membrane Fluidity01:23

Membrane Fluidity

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Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.
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Membrane Fluidity01:26

Membrane Fluidity

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Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
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The living membranes are flexible due to their fluid mosaic nature; however, their bending into different shapes is an active process regulated by specific lipids and proteins. The membrane bending can be transient as seen in vesicles or stable for a long time as in microvilli. Cells regulate the size, location, and duration of the membrane curvature.
Membrane bending can happen due to intrinsic changes in lipid composition or extrinsic association with different proteins. The proteins involved...
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Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions02:40

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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...
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Intermolecular Forces03:13

Intermolecular Forces

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Atoms and molecules interact through bonds (or forces): intramolecular and intermolecular. The forces are electrostatic as they arise from interactions (attractive or repulsive) between charged species (permanent, partial, or temporary charges) and exist with varying strengths between ions, polar, nonpolar, and neutral molecules. The different types of intermolecular forces are ion–dipole, dipole–dipole, hydrogen bonds, and dispersion; among these, dipole–dipole, hydrogen...
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Osmosis01:30

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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...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers
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Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers

Published on: July 22, 2015

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Osmotic forces modify lipid membrane fluctuations.

Amaresh Sahu1

  • 1McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712, USA. asahu@che.utexas.edu.

Soft Matter
|March 2, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Lipid membranes are not impermeable. This study shows membrane relaxation modes and undulations are limited by solute diffusion, especially at higher tensions, impacting experimental interpretations.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Lipid bilayers are often modeled as impermeable, but permeability and osmotic forces significantly influence their behavior.
  • The effects of fluid permeation on lipid membrane dynamics are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the dynamics of a fluctuating, planar lipid membrane that allows fluid passage but not solute diffusion.
  • To determine how membrane permeability affects relaxation modes and thermal undulations.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical modeling of a fluctuating, ideally selective lipid membrane.
  • Analysis of membrane relaxation modes and their dependence on wavenumber and solute diffusion.

Main Results:

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  • The canonical membrane relaxation mode is restricted to a finite range of wavenumbers, dependent on solute diffusion rates.
  • The equipartition result for membrane undulations is only valid within this restricted wavenumber range.
  • Increased membrane surface tension shrinks this range, and above a critical tension, the relaxation mode vanishes.

Conclusions:

  • Membrane permeability to fluid, while impermeable to solutes, fundamentally alters membrane dynamics.
  • Experimental interpretations of membrane fluctuations, particularly in vesicles at moderate to high tensions, must account for these findings.