Starting physiology: bioelectrogenesis

Abstract

From a Cartesian perspective of rational analysis, the electric potential difference across the cell membrane is one of the fundamental concepts for the study of physiology. Unfortunately, undergraduate students often struggle to understand the genesis of this energy gradient, which makes the teaching activity a hard task for the instructor. The topic of bioelectrogenesis encompasses multidisciplinary concepts, involves several mechanisms, and is a dynamic process, i.e., it never turns off during the lifetime of the cell. Therefore, to improve the transmission and acquisition of knowledge in this field, I present an alternative didactic model. The design of the model assumes that it is possible to build, in a series of sequential steps, an assembly of proteins within the membrane of an isolated cell in a simulated electrophysiology experiment. Initially, no proteins are inserted in the membrane and the cell is at a baseline energy state; the extracellular and intracellular fluids are at thermodynamic equilibrium. Students are guided through a sequence of four steps that add key membrane transport proteins to the model cell. The model is simple at the start and becomes progressively more complex, finally producing transmembrane chemical and electrical gradients. I believe that this didactic approach helps instructors with a more efficient tool for the teaching of the mechanisms of resting membrane potential while helping students avoid common difficulties that may be encountered when learning this topic.

Cardiac electrophysiology: normal and ischemic ionic currents and the ECG

“…The effects of changes in ion concentration gradient on membrane potential can be described by the Nernst equation (2,11,19), which calculates the equilibrium potential for an ion. The equilibrium potential is the voltage required to maintain a given ion chemical gradient across the membrane.…”

Electrodiffusioosmosis induced negative differential resistance in micro-to-millimeter size pores through a graphene/copper membrane

“…Further, the following boundary conditions were assumed to solve the equations (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). (i).…”

“…Ionic transport through nanopores has created huge interest in various fields, including biosensing [1][2][3] , bioelectrogenesis 4 , osmotic energy generation [5][6][7][8] , and nano-fluidics 1,2,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] . The recent advancement of 2D membranes provides a unique platform for understanding the novel transport phenomena under confinement and the versatile surface chemistry of these membranes 11 .…”