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An electrochemical gradient is a gradient of electrochemical potential, usually for an ion that can move across a membrane. The gradient consists of two parts: The chemical gradient, or difference in solute concentration across a membrane. The electrical gradient, or difference in charge across a membrane.
Chemiosmosis is the movement of ions across a semipermeable membrane bound structure, down their electrochemical gradient.An important example is the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by the movement of hydrogen ions (H +) across a membrane during cellular respiration or photosynthesis.
The combined transmembrane gradient of protons and charges created by proton pumps is called an electrochemical gradient. An electrochemical gradient represents a store of energy (potential energy) that can be used to drive a multitude of biological processes such as ATP synthesis, nutrient uptake and action potential formation. [citation needed]
In electrochemistry, the electrochemical potential of electrons (or any other species) is the total potential, including both the (internal, nonelectrical) chemical potential and the electric potential, and is by definition constant across a device in equilibrium, whereas the chemical potential of electrons is equal to the electrochemical ...
This electrochemical gradient is generated by the electron transport chain and allows cells to store energy in ATP for later use. In prokaryotic cells ATP synthase lies across the plasma membrane, while in eukaryotic cells it lies across the inner mitochondrial membrane.
Neurotransmitters are initially stored and synthesized in vesicles at the synapse of a neuron. When an action potential occurs in a cell, the electrical signal reaches the presynaptic terminal and the depolarization causes calcium channels to open, releasing calcium to travel down its electrochemical gradient.
In chemiosmosis, ions move down their electrochemical gradient across a membrane. Mitchell realised that the movement of ions across an electrochemical potential difference could provide the energy needed to produce ATP. His hypothesis was derived from information that was well known in the 1960s.
The electrochemical gradients driving the flow of ions are represented by batteries (E), and ion pumps and exchangers are represented by current sources (I p). The Hodgkin–Huxley model , or conductance-based model , is a mathematical model that describes how action potentials in neurons are initiated and propagated.