User:Cestfini001/sandbox

= Passive transport =

Original entry:
Passive transport is a movement of ions and other atomic or molecular substances across cell membranes without need of energy input. Unlike active transport, it does not require an input of cellular energy because it is instead driven by the tendency of the system to grow in entropy. The rate of passive transport depends on the permeability of the cell membrane, which, in turn, depends on the organization and characteristics of the membrane lipids and proteins. The four main kinds of passive transport are simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion, filtration, and/or osmosis.

Proposed modification:
Passive transport is a type of membrane transport that does not require energy to move substances across cell membranes. Instead of using cellular energy, like active transport, passive transport relies on the second law of thermodynamics to drive the movement of substances across cell membranes. Fundamentally, substances follow Fick's first law, and move from an area of high concentration to one of low concentration because this movement increases the entropy of the overall system. The rate of passive transport depends on the permeability of the cell membrane, which, in turn, depends on the organization and characteristics of the membrane lipids and proteins. The four main kinds of passive transport are simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion, filtration, and/or osmosis.

==== notes: The replaced first sentence read nearly identical to this source so I completely rewrote it. I also simplified the language and added open-source, peer reviewed citations for the introductory sentences and concepts. I also hyperlinked a few additional wikipedia articles while maintaining most of the originally hyperlinked pages. ====

Diffusion[edit]
Main article: Diffusion

Diffusion is the net movement of material from an area of high concentration to an area with lower concentration. The difference of concentration between the two areas is often termed as the concentration gradient, and diffusion will continue until this gradient has been eliminated. Since diffusion moves materials from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration, it is described as moving solutes "down the concentration gradient" (compared with active transport, which often moves material from area of low concentration to area of higher concentration, and therefore referred to as moving the material "against the concentration gradient"). However, in many cases (e.g. passive drug transport) the driving force of passive transport can not be simplified to the concentration gradient. If there are different solutions at the two sides of the membrane with different equilibrium solubility of the drug, the difference in the degree of saturation is the driving force of passive membrane transport. It is also true for supersaturated solutions which are more and more important owing to the spreading of the application of amorphous solid dispersions for drug bioavailability enhancement.

Simple diffusion and osmosis are in some ways similar. Simple diffusion is the passive movement of solute from a high concentration to a lower concentration until the concentration of the solute is uniform throughout and reaches equilibrium. Osmosis is much like simple diffusion but it specifically describes the movement of water (not the solute) across a selectively permeable membrane until there is an equal concentration of water and solute on both sides of the membrane. Simple diffusion and osmosis are both forms of passive transport and require none of the cell's ATP energy.

Proposed Modification:
A biological example of diffusion is the gas exchange that occurs during respiration within the human body. Upon inhalation, oxygen is brought into the lungs and quickly diffuses across the membrane of alveoli and enters the circulatory system by diffusing across the membrane of the pulmonary capillaries. Simultaneously, carbon dioxide moves in the opposite direction, diffusing across the membrane of the capillaries and entering into the alveoli, where it can be exhaled. The process of moving oxygen into the cells, and carbon dioxide out, occurs because of the concentration gradient of these substances, each moving away from their respective areas of higher concentration toward areas of lower concentration. Cellular respiration is the cause of the low concentration of oxygen and high concentration of carbon dioxide within the blood which creates the concentration gradient. Because the gasses are small and uncharged, they are able to pass directly through the cell membrane without any special membrane proteins. No energy is required because the movement of the gasses follows Fick's first law and the second law of thermodynamics.

note: add this example to diffusion section

Facilitated diffusion[edit]
Main article: Facilitated diffusion Depiction of facilitated diffusion. Facilitated diffusion, also called carrier-mediated osmosis, is the movement of molecules across the cell membrane via special transport proteins that are embedded in the plasma membrane by actively taking up or excluding ions. Active transport of protons by H+ ATPases alters membrane potential allowing for facilitated passive transport of particular ions such as potassium  down their charge gradient through high affinity transporters and channels.

Proposed changes:
An example of facilitated diffusion is when glucose is absorbed into cells through Glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) in the human body. There are many other types of glucose transport proteins, some that do require energy, and are therefore not examples of passive transport. Since glucose is a large molecule, it requires a specific channel to facilitate its entry across plasma membranes and into cells. When diffusing into a cell through GLUT2, the driving force that moves glucose into the cell is still the concentration gradient. The main difference between simple diffusion and facilitated diffusion is that facilitated diffusion requires a transport protein to 'facilitate' or assist the substance through the membrane. After a meal, the cell is signaled to move GLUT2 into membranes of the cells lining the intestines called enterocytes. With GLUT2 in place after a meal and the relative high concentration of glucose outside of these cells as compared to within them, the concentration gradient drives glucose across the cell membrane through GLUT2.

note: add this example to facilitated diffusion section