Ion Flow through a Membrane: Concentration and Current Responses to a Step Potential Change

Solutions of the simplified time-dependent Nernst-Planck electrodiffusion equations for various membrane models under the influence of a step voltage change are presented. Comparison of the results for a membrane with continuous sites to those for membranes with two, three, or five intermediate sites shows little difference either qualitatively or quantitatively in the concentration of the diffusible ion inside the membrane, although some quantitative differences are evident in the calculated currents.