Abstract
This chapter will provide an account of some of the physical mechanisms and concepts relating to the description of the passive transport of substances through homogeneous media (simple passive transport theory). Even though in many cases the passive transport of substances through biological membranes appears to take place by more complicated mechanisms, this does not mean that the theory of simple passive transport is of no value in describing passive transport through cell membranes. It is in fact difficult to understand and describe the behaviour of a complicated physical system such as that of a cell membrane, if we are not familiar with the mechanisms operating in the case of a simple system and with the laws governing such mechanisms. Further, in describing the transport of substances through cell membranes, we employ all those concepts which have been found helpful in the case of simple passive transport theory. The aim of these pages, therefore, is to provide an account of the most important elements of simple passive transport theory that can serve as a necessary background for understanding passive transport through cell membranes, and that can serve as a starting point for understanding those modifications it has been found necessary to introduce.
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This essay is dedicated to the memory of Albert Cass, Jr. in recollection of a valuable friendship and stimulating discussions about many of the topics discussed here.
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© 1978 Springer-Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg
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Sten-Knudsen, O. (1978). Passive Transport Processes. In: Tosteson, D.C. (eds) Concepts and Models. Membrane Transport in Biology, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46370-9_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-46370-9_2
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