A human being not only requires oxygen to survive but an efficient body system.

Transportation
across the cell membrane is a vital process in our body system. The necessity of transport of
substances across the cell membrane is to obtain essential nutrients and gases, to excrete the
metabolic wastes and to keep up a suitable PH and ionic concentration within the cell for enzymatic
activities.

The cell membrane is mainly composed of phospholipids and proteins. The phospholipids molecules
arrange themselves in a layer of two molecules thick which is referred as phospholipids bilayer. Each
of the phospholipid molecules has a polar head that gives it the hydrophilic property (like water) and
a pair of non-polar tails gives it the hydrophobic property (dislike water). The phospholipids bilayer
acts as a semi-permeable barrier, allowing specific molecules to cross while fencing the majority of
organically produced chemicals inside the cell. 2 factors that determine whether a molecule can pass
through the plasma membrane or not is the size and the polarity of the molecules.

The transportation across the cell membrane is mainly initiated by 2 types which are the passive and
active transport. Passive transport can be defined as the movement of molecules or ions across a cell
membrane without an expenditure of chemical energy, as by simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion
and osmosis. Simple diffusion is the movement of molecules or ions from a region of higher
concentration to a region of lower concentration, thus going down a concentration gradient until an
equilibrium is achieved. Can occur in living and non-living systems. The rate of diffusion depends on
few factors including the steepness of concentration gradient, temperature, charge, and diameter of
diffusing molecules.

Facilitated diffusion is the movement of hydrophilic molecules or ions across the cell membrane with
the help of transport proteins. There is 2 type of transport proteins which is channel proteins and
pore proteins. Channel proteins provide functional pore in the cell membrane for the diffusion of
ions. The pore is selective about which ions can pass through. Meanwhile, pore proteins pick up the
diffusion molecules on one side of the membrane and release them on the other side. Example of
molecules can pass through pore proteins are amino acids and glucose.

Osmosis is the movement of water molecules from a region of low solute concentration to a region
of high solute concentration (going down the concentration gradient of water) through a semi-
permeable membrane. Osmosis is the diffusion of water only and not the substances that dissolved
in water. When a cell is surrounded by an external solution that is more dilute than the cytoplasm
fluid or vacuole, the external solution is said to be hypotonic to the cell. A cell in the hypotonic
solution will gain water by osmosis process. In the other hand, when a cell is surrounded by an
external solution that is more concentrated than the cytoplasm fluid or vacuole, the external
solution is said to be hypertonic to the cell. A cell in the hypertonic solution will lose water by
osmosis process.

Active transport can be defined as the movement of molecules or ions from a region of lower
concentration to a region of higher concentration (against the concentration gradient) across the cell
membrane, with the expenditure of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), as by ion pumps, cotransport,
and endocytosis. Active transport can only take place in a living organism. Ion pumps (also called
electrogenic pumps) are special proteins which actively transport ions resulting in an ionic and
voltage gradient. This gradient is a form of stored energy used to fuel other processes. The special
protein acts a pump, using Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to transport the H+ ion against the
concentration gradient. Co-transport can be defined as the coupled passage of 2 materials across a
membrane. For example, the transport of sucrose into a cell. Firstly, the hydrogen is pumped out of
the cell, against its concentration gradient by the aid of Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) Then, the
hydrogen begins to move down to the concentration gradient, back into the cell. Hence, the
hydrogen re-enters the cell, it “opens a door” for the sucrose to enter the cell.

The final mechanism for movement across the cell membrane is endocytosis, a process in which a
small patch of cell membrane encloses particles or tiny volumes of fluid that are at or near the cell
surface. There are 3 types of endocytosis. The membrane enclosure then sinks into the cytoplasm
and pinches off from the membrane, forming a vesicle that moves into the cytoplasm. When the
vesicle contains particulate matter, the process is called phagocytosis. When the vesicle contains
droplets of fluid, the process is called pinocytosis. In receptor-mediated endocytosis, specially
coated pits in the cell membrane are lined with receptor proteins that bind with specific materials.

In a conclusion, the transportation across the cell membrane plays a very crucial role in our in body
system for us to continue surviving.