Permeability of the Cell Membrane of Hydrodictyon reticulatum

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Abstract
A 1M sucrose solution causes a cell of Hyrodictyon to shrink to a flat, band-like form without causing any separation between cytoplasm and cell wall. This is due to the impermeability of the wall to sucrose. The impermeability is not absolute, for the cell will recover its normal stretched state after some time. The recovery time in solutions of equal osmotic concentration is available as a relative measure of the permeability of the cell wall. The permeability of the wall of Hydrodictyon to suc-rose is affected by the hydrogen concentration of the medium. It is maximal near pH 7.0 and minimal between pH 2 and 4. This may be explained by the assumption that the hydration of the wall depends on the pH values. Studies of the permeability of the wall to organic substances showed that small molecular volume and high surface activity of the solutes were the factors permitting them to pass through the wall.

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