AS Biology Unit 1 page 35

The Cell Membrane

The cell membrane (or plasma membrane) surrounds all living cells, and is the cell's most important
organelle. It controls how substances can move in and out of the cell and is responsible for many other
properties of the cell as well. The membranes that surround the nucleus and other organelles are almost
identical to the cell membrane. Membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins and carbohydrates
arranged as shown in this diagram.

peripheral
protein on
carbohydrate
outer surface attached to
protein

phospholipid

fatty acid chains

polar head

part of
cytoskeleton

peripheral
protein on
inner surface integral protein
forming a channel
The phospholipids form a thin, flexible sheet, while the proteins "float" in the phospholipid sheet like
icebergs, and the carbohydrates extend out from the proteins. This structure is called a fluid mosaic
structure because all the components can move around (it’s fluid) and the many different components all fit
together, like a mosaic.

The phospholipids are arranged in a bilayer (i.e. a double layer), with their polar, hydrophilic phosphate
heads facing out towards water, and their non-polar, hydrophobic fatty acid tails facing each other in the
middle of the bilayer. This hydrophobic layer acts as a barrier to most molecules, effectively isolating the
two sides of the membrane. Different kinds of membranes can contain phospholipids with different fatty
acids, affecting the strength and flexibility of the membrane, and animal cell membranes also contain
cholesterol linking the fatty acids together and so stabilising and strengthening the membrane.

The proteins usually span from one side of the phospholipid bilayer to the other (integral proteins), but
can also sit on one of the surfaces (peripheral proteins). They can slide around the membrane very quickly
and collide with each other, but can never flip from one side to the other. The proteins have hydrophilic
amino acids in contact with the water on the outside of membranes, and hydrophobic amino acids in

HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11

AS Biology Unit 1 page 36

contact with the fatty chains inside the membrane. Proteins comprise about 50% of the mass of
membranes, and are responsible for most of the membrane's properties.

• Transport proteins. Most transport of small molecules across the

membrane take place through integral proteins. This transport includes
facilitated diffusion and active transport (more details below).

• Receptor proteins. Receptor proteins must be on the outside surface of

hormone binding
cell membranes and have a specific binding site where hormones or other site
receptor
chemicals can bind to form a hormone-receptor complex (like an enzyme-
substrate complex). This binding then triggers other events in the cell
membrane or inside the cell.

• Enzymes. Enzyme proteins catalyse reactions in the cytoplasm or outside

the cell, such as maltase in the small intestine (more in digestion). S P

• Recognition proteins. Some proteins are involved in cell recognition.

These are often glycoproteins, such as the A and B antigens on red blood cell
membranes.

• Structural proteins. Structural proteins on the inside surface of cell

membranes and are attached to the cytoskeleton. They are involved in
maintaining the cell's shape, or in changing the cell's shape for cell motility.
Structural proteins on the outside surface can be used in cell adhesion –
sticking cells together temporarily or permanently.

The carbohydrates are found on the outer surface of all eukaryotic cell membranes, and are attached to
the membrane proteins or sometimes to the phospholipids. Proteins with carbohydrates attached are
called glycoproteins, while phospholipids with carbohydrates attached are called glycolipids.

Remember that a membrane is not just a lipid bilayer,

but comprises the lipid, protein and carbohydrate parts.

HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11

AS Biology Unit 1 page 37

Movement across Cell Membranes

Substances move around inside cells by diffusion, which is the random movement of particles due to
thermal motion. Diffusion does not require any energy (other than the thermal energy of the
surroundings), so it is referred to as a passive process. If there is a concentration difference between two
places then the random movement results in the substance diffusing down its concentration gradient from a
high to a low concentration:

high
concentration random
of solute movement
low
concentration
of solute

Cell membranes are a barrier to most substances, so we say that membranes are selectively permeable.
This means that cell membranes can allow some substances through but not others. This selective
permeability allows materials to be concentrated inside cells, excluded from cells, or simply separated from
the outside environment. This is compartmentalisation is essential for life, as it enables reactions to take
place that would otherwise be impossible. Eukaryotic cells can also compartmentalise materials inside
organelles.

Obviously materials need to be able to enter and leave cells, and there are four main methods by which
substances can move across a cell membrane:
1. Lipid Diffusion 3. Facilitated Diffusion
2. Osmosis (Water Diffusion) 4. Active Transport

1. Lipid Diffusion (Simple Diffusion)

A few substances can diffuse directly through the lipid bilayer part of the membrane. The only substances
that can do this are hydrophobic (lipid-soluble) molecules such as steroids, and a few extremely small
hydrophilic molecules, such as H2O, O2 and CO2. For these molecules the membrane is no barrier at all.
Since lipid diffusion is a passive process, no energy is involved and substances can only move down their
concentration gradient. Lipid diffusion cannot be switched on or off by the cell.

HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11

AS Biology Unit 1 page 38

2. Osmosis (Water Diffusion)

Osmosis is the diffusion of water across a membrane. It is in fact just normal lipid diffusion, but since water
is so important and so abundant in cells (its concentration is about 50mol L-1), the diffusion of water has its
own name – osmosis. The contents of cells are essentially solutions of numerous different solutes, and each
solute molecule attracts a hydration shell of water molecules attached to it. The more concentrated the
solution, the more solute molecules there are in a given volume, and the more water molecules are tied up
in hydration shells, so the fewer free water molecules there are. Free water molecules can diffuse easily
across a membrane in both directions, but the net movement is always down their concentration gradient,
so water therefore diffuses from a more dilute solution to a more concentrated solution.
water molecules membrane solute molecules

hydration
shell

dilute solution concentrated solution

low concentration of solute high concentration of solute
high concentration of free water low concentration of free water
high water potential (ψ) low water potential (ψ)
net movement of water

Water Potential. Osmosis can be quantified using water potential, so we can calculate which way water
will move, and how fast. Water potential (Ψ, the Greek letter psi, pronounced "sy") is simply the effective
concentration of free water. It is measured in units of pressure (Pa, or usually kPa), and the rule is that
water always "falls" from a high to a low water potential (in other words it's a bit like gravity potential or
electrical potential). 100% pure water has Ψ = 0, which is the highest possible water potential, so all
solutions have Ψ < 0, and you cannot get Ψ > 0. An example of water potentials is shown in this diagram:
pure water dilute solution concentrated solution
ψ = 0 kPa ψ = -200 kPa ψ = -500 kPa

water diffuses water diffuses

from 0kPa to -200kPa from -200kPa to -500kPa

HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11

AS Biology Unit 1 page 39

Cells and Osmosis

The water potential of the solution that surrounds a cell affects the state of the cell, due to osmosis. There
are three possible concentrations of solution to consider (the word "tonic" means strength i.e. solute
concentration):
• Isotonic solution a solution of equal water potential to a cell ("same strength")
• Hypertonic solution a solution of lower water potential than a cell ("high strength")
• Hypotonic solution a solution of higher water potential than a cell ("low strength")

The effects of these solutions on cells are shown in this diagram:

Surrounding solution hypotonic Surrounding solution Surrounding solution hypertonic
or high ψ (e.g. fresh water) isotonic or equal ψ or low ψ (e.g. sea water)

Animal
cell
Net diffusion of water into cell, No net diffusion of water, Net diffusion of water out of cell,
so cell swells and bursts (lysis) so cell is normal size so cell shrinks and crenates.

Plant
cell
Net diffusion of water into cell, Net diffusion of water out of cell,
so cell swells a bit and becomes No net diffusion of water, so cytoplasm shrinks from cell
turgid. so cell is normal size wall and cell plasmolyses.

These are problems that living cells face all the time. For example:
• Simple animal cells (protozoans) in fresh water habitats are surrounded by a hypotonic solution (high so
water tends to diffuse in by osmosis. These cells constantly need to expel water using contractile
vacuoles to prevent swelling and lysis.
• Cells in marine environments are surrounded by a hypertonic solution (low Ψ, so water tends to diffuse
out by osmosis. These cells must actively pump ions into their cells to reduce their water potential and
so reduce water loss by osmosis.
• Young non-woody plants rely on cell turgor for their support, and without enough water they wilt.
Plants take up water through their root hair cells by osmosis, and must actively pump ions into their
cells to keep them hypertonic compared to the soil. This is particularly difficult for plants rooted in salt
water.

HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11

AS Biology Unit 1 page 40

3. Facilitated Diffusion (or Passive Transport).

channel carrier
protein f li p protein

or

Facilitated Diffusion is the diffusion of substances across a membrane through a trans-membrane protein
molecule. The transport proteins tend to be specific for one molecule, so substances can only cross a
membrane that contains an appropriate protein. This is a passive diffusion process, so no energy is involved
and substances can only move down their concentration gradient. There are two kinds of transport
protein:
• Channel Proteins form a water-filled pore or channel in the membrane. This allows charged substances
to diffuse across membranes. Most channels can be gated (opened or closed), allowing the cell to
control the entry and exit of ions. In this way cells can change their permeability to certain ions. Ions
like Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Cl- diffuse across membranes through specific ion channels.
• Carrier Proteins have a binding site for a specific solute and constantly flip between two states so that
the site is alternately open to opposite sides of the membrane. The substance will bind on the side
where it at a high concentration and be released where it is at a low concentration. Important solutes
like glucose and amino acids diffuse across membranes through specific carriers. Sometimes carrier
proteins have two binding sites and so carry two molecules at once. This is called cotransport, and a
common example is the sodium/glucose cotransporter found in the small intestine (see next page). Both
molecules must be present for transport to take place.

HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11

AS Biology Unit 1 page 41

4. Active Transport.
protein
pump

change
shape

active
ATP site ADP + Pi
Active transport is the pumping of substances across a membrane by a trans-membrane protein pump
molecule, using energy. The protein binds a molecule of the substance to be transported on one side of the
membrane, changes shape, and releases it on the other side. The proteins are highly specific, so there is a
different protein pump for each molecule to be transported. Since active transport uses energy it is called
an active process (unlike diffusion, which is passive), and is the only transport mechanism that can transport
substances up their concentration gradient.

ATP in active transport

All the processes that need energy in a cell (including active transport) use a molecule called adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) as their immediate source of energy. ATP is synthesised from ADP and phosphate (Pi)
using energy released from glucose in respiration in mitochondria (see p24).
respiration
ADP + Pi ATP
active transport

Active transport pumps hydrolyse (split) the ATP back to ADP and Pi, and use the energy released to
change shape and pump substances across membranes. They are therefore ATPase enzymes, since they
have an active site that catalyses the hydrolysis of ATP to ADP + Pi.
+
K
Na/K
A common active transport pump is the sodium/potassium pump
ATPase (Na/K pump), found in all animal cell membranes.
This pump continually uses ATP to actively pump sodium
ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell. This
creates ion gradients across the cell membrane, which can
ATP
be used to regulate water potential and drive other process ADP + Pi +
Na
(such as absorption in the gut, see p65).

HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11

AS Biology Unit 1 page 42

Effect of concentration difference on rate of transport

The three kinds of transport can be distinguished experimentally by the effect of solute concentration on
its rate of transport:
• Lipid diffusion shows a linear relationship. The greater then active transport

rate of transport
concentration difference the great the rate of diffusion (see
lipid
Fisk’s law p44). diffusion

• Facilitated diffusion has a curved relationship with a

maximum rate. At high concentrations the rate is limited by facilitated
diffusion
the number of transport proteins.
• Active transport has a high rate even when there is no concentration difference
concentration difference across the membrane. Active
transport stops if cellular respiration stops, since there is no energy.

Summary of Membrane Transport

which part of concentration
method uses energy? specific?
membrane? gradient
Lipid Diffusion  phospholipid bilayer  
Osmosis  phospholipid bilayer

Facilitated Diffusion  proteins

Active Transport
proteins


HGS Biology A-level notes NCM/7/11