General Biology 1

Explain transport
mechanisms in cells
LEARNING (diffusion, osmosis,
COMPETENCY facilitated transport,
active transport
(STEM_BIO11/12-Ig-h-13).

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• The cell membrane has the ability to
regulate the concentration of substances
inside the cell.
• These substances include ions such as
Ca++, Na+, K+, and Cl–; nutrients
including sugars, fatty acids, and amino
acids; and waste products, particularly
carbon dioxide (CO₂), which must leave the
cell.
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T h e me mb r a n e’s lip id b ila ye r s t r u ctu re p r o vid e s t h e f ir s t le ve l o f c o n t r o l.
• Only relatively small, nonpolar
materials can move through the lipid
bilayer (remember, the lipid tails of
the membrane are nonpolar).
• Some examples of these are other
lipids, oxygen and carbon dioxide
gases, and alcohol.

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• However, water-soluble materials like
glucose, amino acids, and
electrolytes need some assistance to
cross the membrane because they are
repelled by the hydrophobic tails of
the phospholipid bilayer.

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a) Passive transport is the movement
of substances across the membrane
without spending of cellular energy.
b) Active transport is the movement of
substances across the membrane
using energy from adenosine
triphosphate (ATP).
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Diffusion and Osmosis
1. Simple Diffusion is the movement of
particles from an area of higher
concentration to an area of lower
concentration.

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Whenever a substance exists in greater
concentration on one side of a semipermeable
membrane, such as the plasma membrane, any
substance (small, nonpolar molecules) that can
move down its concentration gradient across the
membrane will do so.
2. Osmosis is the diffusion of water
through a semipermeable membrane
• Water can move freely across the cell
membrane of all cells, either through
protein channels or by slipping
between the lipid tails of the
membrane itself.

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It is the concentration
of solutes within the
water that determine
whether or not water
will be moving into the
cell, out of the cell, or
both.

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Osmosis occurs when
there is an imbalance
of solutes outside of a
cell versus inside the
cell.

Pressure that pulls water

• A solution that has a higher concentration
of solutes than another solution is said to
be hypertonic.
• Water molecules tend to diffuse into a
hypertonic solution because the higher
osmotic pressure pulls water

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• If a cell is placed
in a hypertonic
solution, the cells
will shrivel or
crenate as water
leaves the cell via
osmosis.

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• In contrast, a solution that has a
lower concentration of solutes than
another solution is said to be
hypotonic.

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• Cells in a hypotonic
solution will take on
too much water and
swell, with the risk of
eventually bursting,
a process called lysis.

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• A critical aspect of homeostasis in living
things is to create an internal
environment in which all of the body’s
cells are in an isotonic solution, an
environment in which two solutions have
the same concentration of solutes (equal
osmotic pressure).

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• When cells and their
extracellular environments
are isotonic, the
concentration of water
molecules is the same
outside and inside the
cells, so water flows both
in and out and the cells
maintain their normal
shape (and function).

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3. Facilitated diffusion is the diffusion
process used for those substances
that are large and polar molecules
that cannot cross the lipid bilayer

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• A common example of
facilitated diffusion is the
movement of glucose into
the cell, where it is used
to make ATP.
• It cannot cross the lipid
bilayer via simple
diffusion because it is
both large and polar.
• a specialized carrier protein called the glucose
transporter will transfer glucose molecules into the
cell to facilitate its inward diffusion.
Primary and Secondary
• The movement of particles through a transport
protein from low concentration to high
concentration using energy in the form of ATP.
• Energy is chemically harvested through
hydrolysis.
• Hydrolysis in turn causes a conformational
change in the transport protein which allows
mechanical movement of the particle
Active transport is classified as either Primary Active
Transport or Secondary Active Transport.
1. Primary Active Transport
• This uses the energy found in ATP, photons,
and electrochemical gradients directly in the
transport of molecules from low concentration to
high concentration (against its concentration
gradient) across the cellular membrane.
ATP Hydrolysis
• The enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction
removes a phosphate from ATP, thereby forming
ADP, causes a conformational change in the
transport protein allowing particles to influx or
efflux.
• Enzymes catalyzing ATP-driven primary active
transport are called ATPases.
 ATP Hydrolysis
• The most universal example of ATP hydrolysis
driving primary active transport in cells is the
sodium-potassium pump.

The sodium-potassium pump is responsible for controlling both sodium and potassium concentrations inside
the cell and is extremely important in maintaining the cell’s resting potential.
Electrochemical Gradient
• The electrochemical gradient is generated by the
presence of a proton (H+) gradient.
• A proton gradient is an interconvertible form of
energy that can ultimately be used by the
transport protein to move particles across the
cellular membrane.
Photon Energy
• The energy stored in a photon, the basic unit of
light, is used to generate a proton gradient
through a process similar to that found in
electrochemical gradients.
• This is used in Photosynthesis, where the
reduction of NADH to NAD+ creates a proton
gradient across the chloroplast membrane.
2. Secondary Active Transport
• This achieves an identical result as primary
active transport in that particles are moved from
low concentration to high concentration at the
expense of energy.
• However, it functions independent of direct ATP
coupling. Rather, the electrochemical energy
generated from pumping ions out of the cell is
used.
Secondary active transport is classified as either symporter
or antiporter.
Symport
• Symport secondary active transport
uses a downhill movement of one
particle to transport another particle
against its concentration gradient.
• Symports move both particles in
the same direction through a
transmembrane transport protein.
Symport
• A common symport example
is SGLT1, a glucose
symport.
• SGLT1 transports one
glucose molecule into the
cell for every two sodium
ions transported into the
cell.
The SGLT1 symport is located
throughout the body, particularly in
the nephron of the kidney.
Antiport
• It moves two or more different
particles across the cellular
membrane in opposite directions.
• Antiport secondary active transport
moves one particle down its
concentration gradient and uses the
energy generated from that process
to move another particle up its
concentration gradient.
Antiport
• The sodium-calcium
exchanger found
throughout humans in
excitable cells is a simple
and common example of
an antiport.
• Three sodium ions travel
down their concentration
gradient in exchange for
one calcium ion.
James Paul B. Velasco
jamespaulvelasco@gmail.com