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Weak Electrolyte Transport across Biological Membranes

General Principles

  • Chapter
Physiology of Membrane Disorders

Abstract

The objective of studies on the physiology of cellular membranes is to define the factors that determine the distribution of solutes between a cell and its environment. For the purpose of defining these determinants it is usually found convenient to divide solutes into two groups(1); those that exist as neutral molecules in aqueous solution, the nonelectrolytes; and those that bear a net positive or negative charge, the ions. The determinants for transmembrane movement of these two groups of solutes differ both with respect to the physical forces driving their flows and in terms of the interactions with membrane constituents that determine the rate at which a flow may occur. A third group of solutes may be identified which, from the perspective of their transport through biological membranes, exhibits properties in common with both nonelectrolytes and ions. These solutes are the weak electrolytes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C., 20037, USA

    Michael J. Jackson

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  1. Michael J. Jackson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

    Thomas E. Andreoli M.D.  & Stanley G. Schultz M.D.  & 

  2. Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Joseph F. Hoffman Ph.D.

  3. University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California, USA

    Darrell D. Fanestil M.D.

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© 1986 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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Jackson, M.J. (1986). Weak Electrolyte Transport across Biological Membranes. In: Andreoli, T.E., Hoffman, J.F., Fanestil, D.D., Schultz, S.G. (eds) Physiology of Membrane Disorders. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2097-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2097-5_14

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