Plasma/Cell Membrane

Structure and Function

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Membrane Design

 fluid-mosaic model
a. Fluid = pliable/easily moved

b. Mosaic = made of many different

2 molecules (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates)
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Selectively Permeable
Predict the two reasons things can’t directly go through
the membrane:
1) Size (duh)
2) Polarity (from last unit)

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Selectively Permeable
The cell membrane only lets certain substances in and
out of the cell

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Phosopholipid Bi-Layer

-polar heads are hydrophilic “water loving”

-tails (fatty acids) are hydrophobic “water fearing” and face inward

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Cholesterol
 Type of steroid (lipid)
 Changes fluidity of cell membrane
 Higher temps – stiffens membrane
 Lower temps – prevents membrane from freezing
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Proteins
 Recognition Proteins
 Proteins that have carbohydrate
chains attached
 Carbohydrate chains aid in cell
identification
 “Name Tags”
 Example: Red Blood Cells (A,
B), Identify Viruses as foreign

 Receptor Proteins
 Proteins that receive chemical
signals from other cells
 Such as nervous system cells

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Proteins
 Channel Proteins
 Proteins that involved in letting certain substances in and
out of cells
 Aquaporins- let water in and out of cells
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Proteins
 Integral
 Proteins that cross both layers of the phosphoplipid
bilayer
 Peripheral
 proteins that are only on the top half or bottom half
of the phospholipid bilayer