Table of Contents
- 1 How does chloroform affect the cell membrane?
- 2 What two structural characteristics of cell membranes determine whether substances can pass through them passively?
- 3 How does Acid affect cell membranes?
- 4 Why the cell membrane is permeable to chloroform?
- 5 What characteristics of cell membranes may explain why fat soluble?
- 6 How are the properties of the cell membrane affected by concentrated acid?
How does chloroform affect the cell membrane?
The damaging effect of chloroform has been attributed to its ability to modify the properties of the cell membrane lipid matrix. More specifically, Regen et al. have recently reported that chloroform loosens cholesterol-rich lipid membranes whereas it has the opposite effect in cholesterol-poor bilayers [4], [5].
What two structural characteristics of cell membranes determine whether substances can pass through them passively?
The size of the membrane pores and the cell membrane’s lipid composition are the structural characteristics of the cell membrane on which depends whether a substance can pass passively through the membrane.
What substances can and Cannot diffuse through the lipid bilayer?
Small uncharged molecules can diffuse freely through a phospholipid bilayer. However, the bilayer is impermeable to larger polar molecules (such as glucose and amino acids) and to ions.
How does Acid affect cell membranes?
And none of the cell’s activities would be possible without thin lipid membranes, or bilayers,that separate its parts and regulate their functions. Changes in the packing of the tails into a hexagonal, rectangular-C, or rectangular-P lattice are observed at various pH levels.
Why the cell membrane is permeable to chloroform?
Pores: Small hydrophilic materials (e.g. water, urea) and uncharged molecules (e.g. oxygen, CO2) may pass through gaps between phospholipids. Lipids: Lipid-soluble substances (e.g. alcohol, chloroform) can dissolve into the bilayer and thus cross the membrane.
What are characteristics of cell membranes?
Cell membranes serve as barriers and gatekeepers. They are semi-permeable, which means that some molecules can diffuse across the lipid bilayer but others cannot. Small hydrophobic molecules and gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide cross membranes rapidly.
What characteristics of cell membranes may explain why fat soluble?
The characteristic of a cell membrane which explains why fat-soluble substances rapidly affect cells is because of its semipermeability. Because the cell membrane is also made up of lipids, fat-soluble substances easily affect cells.