Introduction to Cellular Biophysics, Volume 2
From membrane transport to neural signalling
By (author) Armin Kargol
Publication date:
13 December 2019Length of book:
106 pagesPublisher
Morgan & Claypool PublishersDimensions:
254x178mm7x10"
ISBN-13: 9781643277530
All living matter is comprised of cells, which are small compartments isolated from the environment by a cell membrane and filled with concentrated solutions of various organic and inorganic compounds. Some organisms are single-cell, where all life functions are performed by that cell. Others have groups of cells, or organs, specializing in one particular function. The survival of the entire organism depends on all of its cells and organs fulfilling their roles.
Cells are seen differently by biologists, chemists, or physicists. Biologists concentrate their attention on cell structure and function. What the cells consist of? Where are its organelles? What function each organelle fulfils? From a chemists’ point of view, a cell is a complex chemical reaction chamber where various molecules are synthesized or degraded. From a physics standpoint, however, some of the fundamental questions involve the physical movement of all these molecules between organelles within the cell, their exchange with the extracellular medium, as well as electrical phenomena resulting from such transport.
The aim of this book is to look into the basic physical phenomena occurring in cells. These physical transport processes facilitate chemical reactions in the cell and various electrical effects, and that, in turn, leads to the biological functions necessary for the cell to satisfy its role in the mother organism. Ultimately, the goals of every cell are to stay alive and to fulfil its function as a part of a larger organ or organism. The first volume of this book is an inventory of physical transport processes occurring in cells, and this volume provides a closer look at how complex biological and physiological cell phenomena result from these very basic physical processes.