Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Illustration of a eukaryotic cell membrane Comparison of a eukaryotic vs. a prokaryotic cell membrane. The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extracellular space).
Membrane biophysics is the study of biological membrane structure and function using physical, computational, mathematical, and biophysical methods.A combination of these methods can be used to create phase diagrams of different types of membranes, which yields information on thermodynamic behavior of a membrane and its components.
Cross-sectional view of the structures that can be formed by phospholipids in an aqueous solution. A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the cell and another.
Fluid mosaic model of a cell membrane. The fluid mosaic model explains various characteristics regarding the structure of functional cell membranes.According to this biological model, there is a lipid bilayer (two molecules thick layer consisting primarily of amphipathic phospholipids) in which protein molecules are embedded.
[13] [16] Detergents can be used to render membrane proteins water-soluble, but these can also alter protein structure and function. [13] Making membrane proteins water-soluble can also be achieved through engineering the protein sequence, replacing selected hydrophobic amino acids with hydrophilic ones, taking great care to maintain secondary ...
In 1972, S. Jonathan Singer and Garth Nicolson developed new ideas for membrane structure. Their proposal was the fluid mosaic model, which is one of the dominant models now. It has two key features—a mosaic of proteins embedded in the membrane, and the membrane being a fluid bi-layer of lipids.
The lipid-anchored protein can be located on either side of the cell membrane. Thus, the lipid serves to anchor the protein to the cell membrane. [1] [2] They are a type of proteolipids. The lipid groups play a role in protein interaction and can contribute to the function of the protein to which it is attached. [2]
In the membrane field, the term module is used to describe a complete unit composed of the membranes, the pressure support structure, the feed inlet, the outlet permeate and retentate streams, and an overall support structure. The principal types of membrane modules are: