Facilitated transport with fixed-site carrier membranes

Abstract

A theory is presented which describes the facilitated transport of neutral molecules, such as O₂, across fixed-site carrier membranes. A main feature of this theory is a derivation of the effective diffusion coefficient for the solute–carrier complex. A very important aspect is a graphical method which indicates the correct range of data needed to obtain the proper values of the parameters. The results are analogous to facilitated transport in liquid membranes. The model reduces to a form analogous to dual-mode transport in the reaction equilibrium (diffusion-limited) regime. Comparison with experimental results confirms the consistency of this approach.