Abstract
In Chapter 11 the subject of selective solute accumulation and exclusion in isolated cells was extensively discussed. The weight of evidence supports the view that the asymmetry in the distribution of ions and other solutes across the surface of living cells is not the result of the continuous operation of pumps or active transport, but rather is an expression of a metastable equilbrium in which selective adsorption raises the intracellular solute level and partial exclusion from cell water reduces the intracellular solute level. Together these two mechanisms produce the great variety of solute distribution patterns seen in living cells. Cells like frog muscles, squid axons, and red blood cells are typically “solid bodies” surrounded by a single interface with the cells’ aqueous environment. We refer to these cells as unifacial cells.
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