Studies of intramembrane transport: A phenomenological approach

The intramembrane transport properties of carbohydrates were investigated in cellophane. The experiments performed were the measurement of net volume transfer under a concentration and pressure gradient and the solute transfer due to a concentration difference together with the physical properties of the membrane. The matrix of phenomenological coefficients characteristic to the transport was established after the phase boundary contributions were extricated from the experimental transport data. These thermodynamic coefficients were then interpreted through the Spiegler‐Kedem‐Katchalsky frictional model. The analysis of the frictional coefficients clearly indicated the importance of solute‐polymer interactions. The magnitude of solute‐solvent frictional coefficients in the membrane were compared with the corresponding interactions in free solutions. Their differences were explained in terms of the interaction of the solute with the macromolecular network and were quantitatively expressed by introducing two reduced frictional coefficients. The tortuosity factor was shown to be related to these interactions and not a simple geometric property of the membrane. The temperature dependence of the frictional coefficients was established.