12. Ions, Glutathione, Sugars, and Alcohols 



While a single experiment might suffice to disprove the theory 

 of E* only the accumulating mass of data can make it acceptable. 

 It could gain weight by making old problems appear in a new 

 light or by giving tentative answers to questions which have yet 

 found no satisfactory answer or have found no answer at all. Such 

 questions can be asked about ions and glutathione. 



IONS 



The main intracellular monovalent cation is K^ while Na+ is 

 kept out as far as possible by the cell and one of the simple and 

 basic questions of general biology is: why is this so.'^ Buswell and 

 Rodenbush state that the K+ ions fit well into the holes of the 

 cubic water lattice, formed around nonpolar groups, but ions 

 bigger than K+ do not do so. The K" ions fit also into the lacunas 

 of a defective hexagonal lattice. Their dimensions are very similar 

 to those of the water molecules. So we can expect K+ to cause no 

 disturbance in the crystalline regularity while other ions, bigger 

 than K"^, can be expected to do so. According to the contents of 

 this book this crystalline regularity is of prime import for cell life 

 because triplet excitations can take their normal course only in an 

 undisturbed orderly system. 



In a way, Na"^ is bigger than K+ because its nucleus is less 

 screened by an electron shell, leaving outward forces unbalanced, 

 which leads to the formation of a bigger hydrate envelope. So we 

 can expect Na^ to cause trouble, and if this is so then excitation 

 processes could not run undisturbed in its presence and we can 

 understand why the cell keeps the Na" out as far as possible, mak- 

 ing K+ its main intracellular cation. 



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