Abstract
The solution for the spatial distribution of ions in a Donnan equilibrium has been given by J. H. Bartlett and R. A. Kromhout (1952). The present note gives an explicit solution for the case in which the length of the region containing the membrane is large; in biological situations this requires only that the length considered should be greater than a few hundred Ångstrom units. The Donnan equilibrium may be considered to be a special case of a situation in which forces other than electrical act upon the ions; in particular, it represents the case in which only one ion is acted upon and the energy difference on the two sides of the membrane is infinite. An expression is given for the difference in energy of theith in terms of the electrical potential and of the ion concentrations. As an illustration, the results are applied to nerve membrane potentials.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature
Bartlett, J. H. and R. A. Kromhout. 1952. “The Donnan Equilibrium.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,14, 385–91.
Franck, J. and J. E. Mayer. 1947. “An Osmotic Diffusion Pump.”Arch. Biochem.,14, 297–313.
Hodgkin, A. L. 1951. “The Ionic Basis of Electrical Activity in Nerve and Muscle.”Biol. Rev.,26, 339–409.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Landahl, H.D. Note on the Donnan equilibrium. Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics 15, 153–159 (1953). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02476380
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02476380