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Related Concept Videos

Facilitated Diffusion01:16

Facilitated Diffusion

The plasma membrane, a critical structure in cellular biology, houses an array of transporters, or carrier proteins, interspersed within its lipid bilayer. These proteins play a crucial role in solute transport through facilitated diffusion, a form of passive diffusion that uses transporters to move the molecules across the membrane.
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...
Facilitated Transport01:19

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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 membrane via...
Facilitated Transport01:19

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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 membrane via...
Facilitated Transport01:19

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One example of how cells use the energy contained in electrochemical gradients is demonstrated by glucose transport into cells. The ion vital to this process is sodium (Na+), which is typically present in higher concentrations extracellularly than in the cytosol. Such a concentration difference is due, in part, to the action of an enzyme "pump" embedded in the cellular membrane that actively expels Na+ from a cell. Importantly, as this pump contributes to the high concentration of...

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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow
08:01

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Published on: May 1, 2018

Channel Transport: Gating, Geometry, and Heterogeneous Diffusion.

Sean D Lawley1

  • 1Department of Mathematics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA. lawley@math.utah.edu.

Bulletin of Mathematical Biology
|June 1, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

We derived a new formula for diffusive flux through biological channels, considering gating, geometry, and diffusion. This estimate is accurate across many parameters, differing from prior physics models.

Keywords:
DiffusionGating

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Computational Biology

Background:

  • Channel-mediated transport is fundamental in biological systems.
  • Previous theoretical work explored factors influencing diffusive flux, including stochastic gating, channel geometry, and diffusion heterogeneity.
  • A unified approach accounting for these factors was lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To derive an explicit, accurate estimate for diffusive flux through a channel.
  • To incorporate the effects of stochastic gating, channel geometry, and heterogeneous diffusion into a single model.
  • To validate the derived estimate against theoretical limits and simulation data.

Main Methods:

  • Derivation of an analytical estimate for diffusive flux.
  • Analysis of the estimate's exactness in specific parameter regimes.
  • Validation using extensive stochastic simulations across a wide parameter range.

Main Results:

  • An explicit estimate for channel-mediated diffusive flux was successfully derived.
  • The estimate was shown to be exact under certain conditions.
  • Stochastic simulations confirmed the estimate's broad accuracy, even where it deviates from existing physics literature.

Conclusions:

  • The developed estimate provides a robust framework for understanding diffusive flux in biological channels.
  • This work offers a more comprehensive model than previous approaches by integrating multiple key factors.
  • The findings have implications for modeling transport phenomena in various biological contexts.