Summary
Unstirred layers of solution adjacent to a membrane cause a decrease in the effective driving forces on water (or solutes) during permeability-type experiments. These effects are discussed in relation to transcellular-osmosis studies from which it had been previously deduced that the permeability (strictly hydraulic conductivity) of the membranes of Characean cells to water was greater when water was entering the cell (endosmosis) than when it was leaving the cell (exosmosis). Quantitative theory shows that this polar permeability is not so pronounced as had previously been claimed.
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References
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Dainty, J. The polar permeability of plant cell membranes to water. Protoplasma 57, 220–228 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01252056
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01252056