Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Membrane Structure: Gorter & Grendel Experiment

In course

BIO-109: Introduction to life sciences (for IC)

Ce cours présente les principes fondamentaux à l'œuvre dans les organismes vivants. Autant que possible, l'accent est mis sur les contributions de l'Informatique aux progrès des Sciences de la Vie. ...

Description

This lecture covers the Gorter & Grendel experiment from 1925, exploring the structure of the plasma membrane using red blood cells. Topics include membrane composition, purification techniques, Langmuir trough experiments, and the trilaminar model. The instructor discusses the lipid bilayer, phospholipids, membrane proteins, and the sandwich model, emphasizing the bilayer nature of the plasma membrane.

Instructor

Romain Zufferey

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Cell biology: Membrane biology

Related concepts (32)

Cell membrane

The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extracellular space). The cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer, made up of two layers of phospholipids with cholesterols (a lipid component) interspersed between them, maintaining appropriate membrane fluidity at various temperatures.

Lipid bilayer

The lipid bilayer (or phospholipid bilayer) is a thin polar membrane made of two layers of lipid molecules. These membranes are flat sheets that form a continuous barrier around all cells. The cell membranes of almost all organisms and many viruses are made of a lipid bilayer, as are the nuclear membrane surrounding the cell nucleus, and membranes of the membrane-bound organelles in the cell. The lipid bilayer is the barrier that keeps ions, proteins and other molecules where they are needed and prevents them from diffusing into areas where they should not be.

Membrane protein

Membrane proteins are common proteins that are part of, or interact with, biological membranes. Membrane proteins fall into several broad categories depending on their location. Integral membrane proteins are a permanent part of a cell membrane and can either penetrate the membrane (transmembrane) or associate with one or the other side of a membrane (integral monotopic). Peripheral membrane proteins are transiently associated with the cell membrane.

Semipermeable membrane

Semipermeable membrane is a type of biological or synthetic, polymeric membrane that will allow certain molecules or ions to pass through it by osmosis. The rate of passage depends on the pressure, concentration, and temperature of the molecules or solutes on either side, as well as the permeability of the membrane to each solute. Depending on the membrane and the solute, permeability may depend on solute size, solubility, properties, or chemistry. How the membrane is constructed to be selective in its permeability will determine the rate and the permeability.

Biological membrane

A biological membrane, biomembrane or cell membrane is a selectively permeable membrane that separates the interior of a cell from the external environment or creates intracellular compartments by serving as a boundary between one part of the cell and another. Biological membranes, in the form of eukaryotic cell membranes, consist of a phospholipid bilayer with embedded, integral and peripheral proteins used in communication and transportation of chemicals and ions.

Related lectures (34)

Membrane Structure: Gorter & Grendel Experiment

Explores the Gorter & Grendel experiment demonstrating the lipid bilayer structure of the plasma membrane.

Biological Membranes: Structure and Function

Explores the structure, dynamics, and functions of biological membranes.

Lipids and Cell Membranes / Carbohydrates

Explores enzymes, evolution, lipids, membranes, carbohydrates, membrane proteins, and enzyme inhibition mechanisms.

Membrane Dynamics: Pores and Aggregates

Discusses self-assembly dynamics in oil and lipid systems, focusing on aggregate growth and pore formation in lipid bilayers.