- Facilitated diffusion
Facilitated diffusion (or facilitated transport) is a process of
diffusion , a form ofpassive transport facilitated bytransport protein s. The facilitated diffusion may occur either acrossbiological membrane s or through aqueous compartments of an organism.Polar molecules and charged ions are dissolved in water but they can not diffuse freely across cell membranes due to the hydrophobic nature of the
lipid s that make up thelipid bilayer s. Only small nonpolar molecules, such asoxygen can diffuse easily across the membrane. All polar molecules should be transported across membranes by proteins that form transmembrane channels. These channels are gated so they can open and close, thus regulating the flow of ions or small polar molecules. Larger molecules are transported by transmembrane carrier proteins, such aspermease s that change their conformation as themolecules are carried through, for exampleglucose oramino acids .Non-polar molecules, such as
retinol orfatty acid s are poorly soluble in water. They are transported through aqueous compartments of cells or through extracellular space by water-soluble carriers as retinol binding protein. The metabolites are not changed because no energy is required for facilitated diffusion. Only permease changes its shape in order to transport the metabolites. The form of transport through cell membrane which modifies its metabolites is thegroup translocation transportation.Facilitated Diffusion- Another type of Passive Transport that uses a carrier protein.
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