SOME ASPECTS OF CELL PERMEABILITY TO WEAK ELECTROLYTES

Abstract

For the purposes of the present discussion the term “weak electrolyte” will be applied to those acids and bases which in aqueous solutions, within at least some part of the normal physiological pH range, exist to a considerable extent in the form of undissociated molecules. Included in this class of compounds are many of physiological and pharmacological importance. Carbonic acid, for example, is one of the most universally distributed substances both in the inorganic and the organic worlds. Its unique role in the acid-base balance and the respiratory activities of the higher animals is too well known to require discussion. Other weak organic acids such as lactic and beta-oxybutyric acids are common products of metabolism; still others of artificial origin, among which barbituric acid and its derivatives and the substituted phenols are typical, are finding increasing applications in medicine. Examples of important weak bases are ammonia, the alkaloids and various...