Analysis of Facilitied Transport through Fixed Site Carrier Membranes

A simple mathematical model for gacilitated mass transport with a fixed site carrier membrane was derived by assuming an instantaneous, microscopic concentration (activity) fluctuation, The concentration fluctuation, developed due to reversible chemical reaction between carrier and solute, could acuse the higher chemical potential gradient and the facilitated transport. For mathematical formulation, an analogy was employed between the mass transfer for the facilitated transport with fixed site carrier membrane and the electron transfer in a parallel resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit. For the single RC model, it was assumed that a single capacitor represented the total carrier and a solute could not inter-diffuse between matrix and carrier, allowing only two diffusional pathways, This assumption was relaxed by adopting a serial combination of the parallel RC circuit. Here, a solute diffuses in two elements (matrix or carrier) can exchange its pathway, exhibiting four diffusional pathways. The current models were examined against experimental data and the agreement was exceptional.