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Diffusion vs. Transport. In biology, an ion transporter is a transmembrane protein that moves ions (or other small molecules) across a biological membrane to accomplish many different biological functions, including cellular communication, maintaining homeostasis, energy production, etc. [1] There are different types of transporters including pumps, uniporters, antiporters, and symporters.
While there are many examples of channels within the human body, two notable ones are sodium and potassium channels. Potassium channels are typically involved in the transport of potassium ions across the cell membrane to the outside of the cell, which helps maintain the negative membrane potential of cells. As there are more potassium channels ...
The rate of ion transport through the channel is very high (often 10 6 ions per second or greater). Ions pass through channels down their electrochemical gradient, which is a function of ion concentration and membrane potential, "downhill", without the input (or help) of metabolic energy (e.g. ATP, co-transport mechanisms, or active transport ...
In bacteria and small yeast cells, a commonly cotransported ion is hydrogen. [19] Hydrogen pumps are also used to create an electrochemical gradient to carry out processes within cells such as in the electron transport chain, an important function of cellular respiration that happens in the mitochondrion of the cell. [20]
Thermodynamically the flow of substances from one compartment to another can occur in the direction of a concentration or electrochemical gradient or against it. If the exchange of substances occurs in the direction of the gradient, that is, in the direction of decreasing potential, there is no requirement for an input of energy from outside the system; if, however, the transport is against ...
The sodium-calcium exchanger (often denoted Na + /Ca 2+ exchanger, exchange protein, or NCX) is an antiporter membrane protein that removes calcium from cells. It uses the energy that is stored in the electrochemical gradient of sodium (Na +) by allowing Na + to flow down its gradient across the plasma membrane in exchange for the countertransport of calcium ions (Ca 2+).
A transport protein (variously referred to as a transmembrane pump, transporter, escort protein, acid transport protein, cation transport protein, or anion transport protein) is a protein that serves the function of moving other materials within an organism. Transport proteins are vital to the growth and life of all living things.
Voltage-gated chloride channels perform numerous crucial physiological and cellular functions, such as controlling pH, volume homeostasis, transporting organic solutes, regulating cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Based on sequence homology the chloride channels can be subdivided into a number of groups.