The main purpose of this schoolbook is to consider issues related to the molecular mechanisms of transport of metabolites across biological membranes, as well as issues of energy transformation of both chemical reactions and osmotic gradients in living systems. The schoolbook also presents current scientific data on the structure and functions of biological membranes and their role in the regulation of signal transduction, vesicular transport and processes occurring in the membranes. The schoolbook is intended for training in undergraduate and graduate programs for the educational areas "Physics" (03.03.02), "Technical Physics" (16.04.01) and "Biotechnical Systems and Technologies" (12.04.04), as well as for graduate students in Biophysics (03.01.02) and Molecular Biology (06.05.01).

• CONTENTS
• CHAPTER 1. THE STRUCTURE OF BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES
  • 1.1. GENERAL COMPONENTS OF BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES
  • 1.2. HISTORICAL MILESTONES
  • 1.3. BASIC FUNCTIONS OF CELLULAR MEMBRANES
• CHAPTER 2. LIPIDS AND LIPID BILAYER
  • 2.1. STRUCTURE OF LIPID MOLECULES
  • 2.2. COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR OF LIPIDS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
  • 2.3. LIPID DIVERSITY OF NATURAL MEMBRANES
  • 2.4. THE PERMEABILITY OF LIPID BILAYER TO LOW WEIGHT MOLECULES
• CHAPTER 3. MEMBRANE POTENTIALS
  • 3.1 DIFFUSE ELECTRIC DOUBLE LAYER
  • 3.2. NERNST POTENTIAL
  • 3.3. THE OSMOTIC PRESSURE
  • 3.4. GIBBS-DONNAN POTENTIAL
  • 3.5. THE STATIONARY POTENTIAL OF DIFFUSION CURRENT
  • 3.6. THE POTENTIAL OF CELL MEMBRANES
  • 3.7. pH-DEPENDENT DISTRIBUTION OF WEAK ACIDS AND BASES BETWEEN TWO COMPARTMENTS
• CHAPTER 4. ISOLATION OF CELLULAR ORGANELLES
  • 4.1. MARKER ENZYMES
  • 4.2. MAIN STAGES OF THE ORGANELLE SEPARATION
  • 4.3. ORIENTATION OF MEMBRANE PARTICLES
• CHAPTER 5. TRANSPORT MECHANISMS
  • 5.1. CLASSIFICATION OF TRANSPORT MECHANISMS
  • 5.2. ION PUMPS
• CHAPTER 6. H+-ATP-SYNTHASE. CELLULAR ENERGETICS
  • 6.1. PRINCIPLES OF BIOENERGY
  • 6.2. ENERGY COUPLING OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS
  • 6.3. GRADIENT OF PROTONS IS A SOURCE OF ENERGY
  • 6.4. THE ELECTROCHEMICAL POTENTIAL OF PROTONS IN MITOCHONDRIA
  • 6.5. MECHANISM OF H+-ATP SYNTHASE
  • 6.6. SYMPORT AND ANTIPORT. SECONDARY ACTIVE TRANSPORT
• CHAPTER 7. THE INVESTIGATION OF THE STRUCTURE OF MEMBRANE PROTEINS
  • 7.1. RECONSTRUCTION OF MEMBRANE PROTEINS
  • 7.2. MEMBRANE PROTEINS CLONING
  • 7.3. THE ART OF CRYSTALLIZATION
  • 7.4. MEMBRANE PROTEINS TOPOLOGY
• CHAPTER 8. PERIMEMBRANOUS MECHANISMS OF SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION AND VESICULAR TRAFFIC
  • 8.1. PERIMEMBRANOUS SIGNALING COMPLEXES
  • 8.2. PERIMEMBRANOUS MECHANISMS OF GOVERNING OF MEMBRANE TRAFFIC
  • 8.3. MODEL OF PROTEIN PLATFORMS
• CHAPTER 9. CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES
• 9.1. NON-VESICULAR LIPID MOVEMENT