Transport and diffusion across cell membranes

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Transport and Diffusion across Cell Membranes offers a thorough examination of how molecules and ions traverse cell membranes. It demonstrates that the same kinetic equations, with necessary modifications, can effectively describe various specialized membrane transport mechanisms, including pores, carriers, and pumps. The book develops kinetic formalism incrementally, emphasizing the characteristics that enhance a system's biological function. Organized into six chapters, it begins with an overview of cell membrane structure and dynamics, then addresses the membrane's role as a barrier to transmembrane diffusion. Subsequent chapters delve into the protein components of membranes that facilitate the diffusion of specific molecules and ions, measuring diffusion through pores, and the kinetics involved, along with the structure and biological regulation of these pores. The text systematically introduces readers to membrane carriers, the kinetics of facilitated diffusion, and cotransport systems. It also explores primary active transport systems, focusing on the pumping of ions (sodium, potassium, calcium, or protons) against their electrochemical gradients, coupled with conformational changes in pump enzymes. This book is aimed at advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and biophysics.