You have a planar bilayer with equal amounts of saturated and unsaturated phospholipids. After testing the permeability of this membrane to glucose, you increase the proportion of unsaturated phospholipids in the bilayer. What will happen to the membrane's permeability to glucose?
A) Permeability to glucose will increase.
B) Permeability to glucose will decrease.
C) Permeability to glucose will stay the same.
D) You cannot predict the outcome; you simply have to make the measurement.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Increasing the proportion of unsaturated phospholipids in the bilayer introduces more kinks into the fatty acid tails, which increases the fluidity of the membrane. This increased fluidity allows for easier passage of molecules like glucose, thus increasing the membrane's permeability to glucose.

You Have a Planar Bilayer with Equal Amounts of Saturated