Ion transporter

[1] There are different types of transporters including pumps, uniporters, antiporters, and symporters.

Active transporters or ion pumps are transporters that convert energy from various sources—including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), sunlight, and other redox reactions—to potential energy by pumping an ion up its concentration gradient.

The most important unifying factor being the charged nature of the substrate which indicates the transport of an ion and not a neutral species.

[6] Examples of the P-type ATPase include Na+/K+-ATPase[7][8][9] that is regulated by Janus Kinase-2[10] as well as Ca2+ ATPase which exhibits sensitivity to ADP and ATP concentrations[3] P-glycoprotein is an example of an ABC transport binding protein in the human body.

These proteins transport ions from high to low concentration with the gradient but in the process ATP is formed.

Examples of this are lysosomes that use V-type ATPase to acidify vesicles or plant vacuoles during the process of photosynthesis in the chloroplasts.

[6] For example, the sodium-dependent glucose transporter found in the small intestine and kidney use the sodium gradient created in the cell by the sodium potassium pump (as mentioned above) to help carry glucose into the cell.

For example, the electron transport chain is regulated by the presence of H+ ions (pH) in solution.

[6] A patch clamp is an electrophysiology technique used to study channels and transporters in cells by tracking the current that run through them.

[17][18] Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a technique used to track diffusion of lipids or proteins in a membrane.

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a technique that uses fluorescence to track how close two proteins are to each other.