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In chemical biology, tonicity is a measure of the effective osmotic pressure gradient; the water potential of two solutions separated by a partially-permeable cell membrane. Tonicity depends on the relative concentration of selective membrane-impermeable solutes across a cell membrane which determine the direction and extent of osmotic flux .
Plasmolysis is the process in which cells lose water in a hypertonic solution. The reverse process, deplasmolysis or cytolysis, can occur if the cell is in a hypotonic solution resulting in a lower external osmotic pressure and a net flow of water into the cell.
Turgidity is the point at which the cell's membrane pushes against the cell wall, which is when turgor pressure is high. When the cell has low turgor pressure, it is flaccid. In plants, this is shown as wilted anatomical structures. This is more specifically known as plasmolysis. [7] A turgid and flaccid cell
Osmolarity and tonicity are related but distinct concepts. Thus, the terms ending in -osmotic (isosmotic, hyperosmotic, hypoosmotic) are not synonymous with the terms ending in -tonic (isotonic, hypertonic, hypotonic). The terms are related in that they both compare the solute concentrations of two solutions separated by a membrane.
It is also the determining factor for how plants regulate the aperture of their stomata. In animal cells excessive osmotic pressure can result in cytolysis due to the absence of a cell wall. Osmotic pressure is the basis of filtering (" reverse osmosis "), a process commonly used in water purification .
The process of osmosis over a semipermeable membrane.The blue dots represent particles driving the osmotic gradient. Osmosis (/ ɒ z ˈ m oʊ s ɪ s /, US also / ɒ s-/) [1] is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential (region of lower solute concentration) to a region of low water potential ...
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[2]: 229–230 In a hypertonic environment, the cell has a lower concentration of solutes than the surrounding extracellular fluid, and water diffuses out of the cell by osmosis, causing the cytoplasm to decrease in volume. As a result, the cell shrinks and the cell membrane develops abnormal notchings.