Lesson 8: The Sodium-Potassium Pump

The sodium-potassium pump is an antiport enzyme.

  • This means it transports substances in the opposite direction.

 

Facts about the Sodium-Potassium Pump

  • It uses ATP to pump 3 sodium ions and 2 potassium ions into a cell.
  • The membrane is permeable to [katex]K^+[/katex].
  • It is impermeable to [katex]Na^+[/katex].
  • These factors allow an electrochemical gradient to be set up
  • The cell has a negative charge.