Spin physics and biological membranes

摘要

Formula for calculating the concentration profile of ions in biological membranes has been obtained. It is assumed that ions are moving in a viscous medium under the action of the electric field and a concentration gradient. The problem is that ions are coated with shells consisting of water dipoles. These dipoles copy the form of the ions and in a strong electric field they can acquire the shape of an ellipsoid which changes the effective ion radius in the membrane. Calculation of the Na~(+1) and K~(+1) profiles leads to a conclusion that active and passive transport of ions is closely associated with the shape of the hydrated shells. The work was performed at the Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics, JINR, Dubna