Selective Distribution of Ions, Sugars, and Free Amino Acids

Abstract

There are few subjects in cell physiology that have played as large a role in the development of concepts of the cell as the selective accumulation and exclusion of solutes. Certainly, investigation of this subject helped the formulation of Troshin’s sorption theory as well as the association-induction (AI) hypothesis. In particular, the unusual distribution patterns of K⁺ and Na⁺ gave important clues to the molecular mechanisms that underlie the general patterns of solute distribution in, as well as the physicochemical makeup of, living cells.