A Cell’s Environment:

 The internal environment of cell is regarded to be all material contained

in plasma membrane.
 Extracellular fluids baths outside of plasma membrane  provides
liquid medium where nutrient supplied + waste removed
 Can create problems: prevents free interchange of materials between
internal and external environments.

Importance of Membrane:
 Prokaryotic & eukaryotic cells = plasma membrane
 Membrane = protective boundary and keeps internal contents confined
preventing them moving away from each other
 Keeps out foreign molecules that dame and destroy cell’s components
 Eukaryotic cells need to exchange substances with external
environment
 Communication between cells and external environment.

Structure of Membranes:
 All membranes are made up of a double layer of phospholipid
molecules—the phospholipid bilayer.
 Hydrophilic head in contact with watery environment
 Hydrophobic tails face each other in centre of bilayer and repels water.

Membrane Proteins:
 Range of different proteins embedded in membrane
 Either resting on surface or penetrating through whole membrane
depending on function
 Cope with problem of exchanging substances and communication with
external environment.

Transport Proteins:
 Openings both sides of membrane  form channels allow some
substances move through membrane
 Certain water soluble molecules – some ions, amino acids and
monosaccharides.

Receptor Proteins:
 Bind hormones and other substances that cause changes to cell’s
activates
 Different cells = different receptor proteins= enable carry out different
functions

Recognition Proteins:
 Attach to carbohydrate molecules = act as markers called antigens
 Antigens allow immune system to distinguish between body’s own ‘self’
cells and foreign ‘non-self’ cells.
 Unique to each individual.
 ‘Non-self’ cells discovered = immune system destroy them

In multicellular organisms: Adhesion proteins like cells together

Moving Through Membranes:

 Membrane said to be differentially permeable = the membrane behaves
differently for different substances.
 In general, substances pass in and out of cell in 4 main processes:
diffusion, osmosis, active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis.

Passive transport = movement of materials across membrane without

requiring energy.

Diffusion:
 Diffusion = net movement of particles from high concentrated region to
a lower concentrated region
 Difference of two concentrated regions = concentration gradient or
diffusion gradient.
 Always takes place where such gradient exists, continues till particles
distributed evenly
 When that happens = equilibrium
 Particles move randomly > at equilibrium move at equal rates in all
directions.
 PASSIVE PROCESS
 Takes place in living and non-living systems
 Diffusion rate higher when:
 Concentration gradient is great
 Heat applied
 Molecules are smaller
 Movement occurs through a gaseous medium

 Substances such as water,

oxygen, carbon dioxide and
other small uncharged particles
easily pass through membrane
by simple diffusion