PHSL233 20th July 2023

L.3 Movement of water across membranes Summary:

 
This is the definition of osmosis:
Diffusional movement of water from a region of greater water activity to an area of
lower water activity
We generally don’t think of water as having a concentration normally think of the concentration
of things in water but water is a chemical to it has a concentration
Side note about activity: activity is slightly different but similar to concentration, if you see
activity at physiological numbers, activity and physiological concentrations are kind of the same
Essentially the change in water activity is due to a difference in solute concentration
Take two beaker and fill with the same height of water, same amount of water, if you
add salt to one of them (sodium chloride), that technically now has less water in it as it
has been diluted, proportion of the solution that is made up of water
You can have more solutes in that volume of water and by definition you would have
less water as the volume it takes up will include the sodium chloride
Osmosis is similar to saying if we had two separate compartments like the ICF and ECF,
separated by a membrane, whichever on has the highest solute concentration has the lower
water concentration
Water always moves to where it is salter

Hydrostatic Pressure:
In terms of cells there are two main things we need to look at
Hydrostatic pressure (pushing force)
Osmotic pressure
Hydrostatic pressure does not really exits in cells
There is a hydrostatic pressure that keeps those soft cells at a certain volume and it is
determined by the solutes in those cells, we don’t have biologically any form or any way
of pumping water in and out of cells. The movement of water in and out of cells is
always passive, it is driven by other things
We need to talk about hydrostatic pressure as it does exits but not really in cells
In 232 will com across this as the heart is a pump so that is hydrostatic pressure
as it pumps the blood around the system, outside of that system in just cells we
don’t want any changes in hydrostatic pressure
Define it (but we will ignore it)
Tube with a water permeable membrane in the middle (membrane with holes in
it), so water can go through it. If we pour water in there it will self level,
hydrostatic pressure will not get more water one side it will balance out so that
the pressure across these two tubes as they are open is the same.
So if you fill up ones tube, pour water in it, that increase the hydrostatic
pressure on one side and it then self levels, as water can move through the
membrane so an increase in pressure on one side due to higher volume of water
on one side will self level
Water volume equilibrates as hydrosolic pressure pushes the water around
We can basically ignore it now but we know what it is, if we push around water
and increase the pressure eon it it can move, and we can measure that pressure
by putting a gage in

Effects of solute on concertation of water:

We are interested in this more!
 The effects of solute on the concentration of water
U bend Tube, inside is water molecules, blue and pink which is a random solute, also have the
semipermeable membrane in the middle, this membrane allows water so move but it won't
allow the solutes to move, the pores are too small for the solutes to go through
At the moment equilibrium, pink dots same number both side, same for water, at equilibrium
What happens if we add extra solutes to one side
We get side B now with more solutes so high solute concentration than side A by
definition it now has a lower water concentration than side A.
Bc we have added solutes to side B, now technically less water than side a
This now means there is a driving force for water to go from a high concentration,
technically a higher water conc on side A than side B so the water wants to go from an
area of high concentration to low concentration
So what happens is what moves from an area of high concentration to an area of low
concentration until it balances it out, now we have the same solute concentrations on
both sides bc concentration is the number of moles divide by the volume of the solution,
we have added extra solute to one side to side B and those solutes cannot cross that
membrane to side A so it cannot come to its own equilibrium by diffusion it is trapped in
B so the water moves instead, the water moves to an area of low concentration until the
concentration balances out, the increase of water is bc want the same ration of solutes
to water
The osmotic pressure drags water towards it and that can be measured, if we applied a
force and we squeeze it down back down until the waters are at the same level we will
now of equilibrated it and we can measure the applied force and this measurement of
the applied force would be equivalent to the osmotic pressure
We would be applying a hydrostatic pressure that we can measure which
reverses the osmotic pressure
In this paper it does not matter too much as it is all self regulating but
cardiovascular system the body does a lot to equilibrate these pressure but we
don’t really care
All you need to know is the hydrostatic pressure opposes the osmotic pressure

Osmotic pressure – Van’t Hoff Equation:

This equation describes the osmotic pressure of a solution, we will get ride of most of it bc
physiologically most things are pretty constant
Can get ride of:
R as it is the Gas constant
T the temperature in kelvin these don’t change much
Osmotic coefficient is also getting rid of, in biologically it is pretty much 1 so ignoring it
Now left with
Osmotic pressure (shown by pie) is equal to the sum of C x i
i is the number of solute molecules formed by dissection
Chemical nature of the solute is irrelevant - important
So all that is important is the total number of osmotically active particles
That means… here is a sodium ion and a chloride ion, that is one
sodium chloride, what happens when you put sodium chloride
in water, it dissociated, it separates, the bond breaks as the
bond the water molecules makes is stronger then the bond
between sodium chloride so they split apart
Know have a net positive charge and net negative charge so it
bipolar, the positive charge the hydrogens associates itself
around the chloride, the negative charge around the water
 associates itself around the sodium, so all molecules in the
solution are surrounded by water molecules and they interact
with those water molecules, end up with situation where one
sodium chloride dislocates into one chloride and on sodium so
now have two osmotically active particles
Another example is glucose: 6 carbons, 12 hydrogens and 6
oxygens, when you put glucose in water you get sugary water,
this is what happens: the glucose does not dissociate it stays as
a glucose molecule, it is surrounded by water so one glucose bc
it does not dissociate in water is one osmotically active particle
So when we talk about osmotically active particles it does not
matter how big they
So how do we calculate these things….

Calculating Osmolarity:
The way we calculate these things
Example
150mmol-1 sodium chloride NaCL this dissociates into one Na+ and one CL- bc it is a salt
so it is 150 x2 so osmolarity = 300 mOsmoles (milli osmols)
The equation tells us take the thing you are looking at and multiple by how many
molecules it dissociates into or doesn’t dissociate into in water
Glucose dose not dissociates so 150mmol x1 = 150 milli osmols L-1
Basic rule is if it is not a salt it is not going to dissociates
So Calcium Chloride 150mmol L-1 CaCl2, it has one calcium and two chlorides so 150 x 3
= 450 450 milli osmolare
For the most part generally NaCl and CaCl, these are the important ones for us
Nature of the particles is not important the key thing is how many are in solution when it
comes to osmolarity

Osmolarity/Osmolality:
Osmotic pressure only exits when osmosis can occur ie. cell if that cell does not have any
mechanism allow sodium or chloride to enter the cell it does not really mater if there is an
osmotic gradient bc only maters if that solute can cross and enter into the cell, that is relevant to
the labs where we put a lot of things in sodium chloride
Osmolarity/osmolality
These are measures of the total number of osmotically active solutes in a solution, the
same thing will come across both terms used
One is osmols per a letter
We use milli osmols -L in the same way we use mmmols as smaller concentrations
Osmolarity
If it is in a solution it is osmolarity
Osmolality
If it is weight based it is osmolality, won't come across this very much

Water Flux:
Solute diffusion
our net flux is due to the permeability x the concentration difference
 If concentration difference will always go from an area of high concentration to an area
of low concentration
Permeability coefficient tell us how easy it is going to do that
Water has a measurable flux as well
Don’t need to remember big equation just the underlying principle
Hydraulic conductivity
How easy does it move, high hydraulic conductivity, water can move easily
through whatever route is available, it does not tell us anything about the
nature of how it moves, it just tells us the fact that it can move
Area
Again for cells is very consistent
Hydrostatic pressure
Osmotic pressure
Again in cardio important Hydrostatic and osmotic pressure relationship
but in cells we don’t have this!
We have a hydrostatic pressure if you like in terms of the pressure water
puts on the cell (remember cells are the plasma membrane they are
flopping and they rely on the pressure inside them to maintain there
size and shape), they do have a hydrostatic pressure but we cant change
that hydrostatic pressure that pressure comes down to the osmolarity of
the inside and outside of the cell
So for cells we discount the hydrostatic pressure and just account for
the osmotic pressure as the driving force for water
Therefore we get this simple equation:
Cell membrane cannot withstand a significant change in
hydrostatic pressure, if you increase intercellular water, cells will
get bigger if RBC it can get 1.4x bigger then its normal size then
it lysis, it falls apart, the pressure inside the cell is too much and
the membrane just dissolves and they burst essentially so that is
why we can withstand high changes in hydrostatic pressure
So water movement across cell membranes is due to differences
in osmotic pressure across the membrane, we don’t push water
we pull it around
Water always goes to where there is a higher solute
concentration

Multi Choice Question: D

Route of water movement across Membrane:

Link is simply an online modelling of water diffusion through a lipid membrane slowed down
dramatically so demonstrate that yes water soluble things cannot cross a lipid membrane easily
but ironically water kind of can bc what is small, and bc water has a bipolar nature with positive
and negative charges, it is not solely charge it has unique properties that allows it to diffuse
through membrane but not fast, it is unregulated and slow
Lipid by layers have a high hydraulic conductivity which means they are relatively permeable to
water as oppose to other things, diff membranes have diff hydraulic conductivity bc not all
membranes are the same and it largely comes down to aquaporins
These are a specialized pore that can be inserted into the membrane in response to
things like vasopressin or anti directed hormone in the kidneys
 Can insert aquaporins and can dramality increase how much water can cross a
membrane and how fast it can do, this way cells can regulate how much water they are
allowing through them

Aquaporins don’t need all dets just know they exits

Mammals 11 diff families of them
Plants have more
Aquaporins are important for life, remember we cannot push water anyway we have to drag
water osmotically, we can increase the hydraulic conductivity by increase the umber of
aquaporins that we insert on the membrane, we add extra tunnels for water to go through
Just creates pores, little tunnels in the membranes, it does not regulate the water, it just
happens to be that these pores here are small enough so mostly only water can go through
them
Key thing, it is the osmotic gradient that still provided the driving force, still passive movement
of water just going via a pore

Why do we care:
We have solutes, the floaty bits floating around inside and outside the cells
Inside the cells is well protected and the cell can regulate weather sodium's and ions and glucose
enter the cell of not by expressing different channels
Outside is dodge, ECF, 20% of ECF is made up by plasma
When we eat food eventually we break down and absorb into the gut, we absorb it
across the epithelial and it goes into the interstitual fluid and from there it goes into the
blood stream and there to liver and goes around and we absorb a lot of things, so
actually plasma we try to regulate but we are always adding things to it and taking things
away form it, when that circulating blood gets to the kidneys it filters a whole lot of stuff,
when it does that that reduces the osmolarity somewhat, temporally in the kidneys
285 to 300 milli osmoles is our magic number, that is what the inside of the cell has and
it is trying exist
Need to regulate the inside of the cell bc it does not want to get too big!!
Mostly water
This is sig bc water moves in response to hydrostatic and osmotic forces, so important
we can regulate it
Water does move in response to hydrostatic forces BUT we cannot have
hydrostatic force acting on the cells as don’t have any pumps
So osmotic gradients determine where the water will move
Changes in ECF will effect on cells, cells need to protect themselves are don’t want to get too big
or too small
They can change there volume by altering how many solutes are in them!!
Ie. sodium always wants to enter the cell, up to the cell to decide if the sodium moves
Need this as water will follow solutes ie. the sodium

Osmolarity vs Tonicity:
Osmolarity
Describes both the solution and the cell, relative term
Number of osmotically active molecules it doesn't not matter what they are
Ie. glucose vs sodium chloride vs calcium chloride
285 to 300 is physiological reference point, this is the no. inside the cells approx.
Care bc tells us where the water will go
 Ie. RBC put in solution 500mmosmols, the water is going to go inside the cells to
outside the cells as the outside of the cells has a higher osmolarity, water has
FOMO so wants to be where it is salter
Bc of the membrane it can easily move, not very well but it can so if we added
some aquaporins to it would allow the water to go through
Tonicity
Only describes the solution not the cell
Cannot work out what a solution will do to a cell unless you put the cell in the
solution and go oh that’s not good
It describe the effect a solution has on cells
Cannot look at osmolarity and know what the tonicity is going to do, unless
looking at purely sodium chloride solution
It does take into the amount the ability for solute to cross the membrane so talk about
them as penetrating solute
If give solution and mystery solution and they cause the cells to swell that means
something in the solution has caused the cells to swell so cannot be determined
just by looking at osmolarity or any number it has to be experimentally
determines

Osmolarity:
Isosmotic = same osmolarity as inside and outside
Cell is osmotic relative to the beaker contents as have same number
Hyperosmotic - over active, greater than so greater osmolarity
Solution is hyper osmotic compared ot the cell, solution has more osmolty active
particles in it
Could also say the cell is hypoosmotic but we would not say that
Hypo-osmotic - below low
Means lower osmolarity
If solution is smaller it is hypo-osmotic compared to the cell
Inside of the cell is the gold standard

Tonicity
Isotonic
Inside of the cell stays the same ie. supermarket get Powerade cell as isotonic,
its not really that means it has the same osmolarity inside and outside the cell
they should say iso-osmotic
Not actual isotonic
Isotonic will not cause a cell to change size
Ie. RBC is important it stops clotting and allows to squeeze through capillaries so
don’t want them to change shape
Also have soft floppy membrane so don’t want to change pressure
Put in beaker of solution and it does not change shape it is then an
isotonic solution bc cells didn’t change side
Correct isosmotic solution is raro and 1 tsp salt, if too sweet
absorb too much glucose
Hypotonic solution
Causes cells to swell
Something in that solution is entering the cells
 So increases the osmolarity inside the cells so water enter the cells via
aquaporins
If RBC hits capillary not good, if larger then 1.4x bigger will burst
O means cell getting big and round
Can only tell when put the cell in there
Hypertonic solution
Cause cells to shrink
Small e as cells get smaller
Can only tell once in solution