Introduction
Hypo means "inadequate" in Greek. A hypotonic solution has lower solute concentrations than do cells. In hyper, "too much" is meant. In addition to having more solutes than cells, a hypertonic solution also has higher external pressure than internal pressure. Additionally, the prefix "iso" denotes that when exposed to solutions, isotonic mixtures should maintain their regular shape.
So now, let’s understand the basic differences between hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic.
Hypertonic Solution vs. Hypotonic Solution vs. Isotonic Solution
The key difference between a hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic solution is that the concentration plays a major role in each type of solution. The saturation of a hypotonic solution is lower than that of the cells, the concentration of a hypertonic solution is higher than that of the cells, and the saturation of an isotonic solution is the same for both the cells and the external solutions.
Now, the system is hypertonic when the internal solutions of the cells have a lower density and the exterior solution contains a higher concentration of particles. Fluid is compelled to depart the cell and enter the outside because it wants to dilute the outer solution. A smaller amount from the outside that is closer to the level from the inside is the result of this dilution.
Difference Between Hypertonic, Hypotonic and Isotonic in Tabular Form
| Parameters of Comparison | Hypertonic and Hypotonic | Isotonic |
| The Meanining | In a hypertonic configuration, the solute concentration in the fluids immediately surrounding the cell is higher than that in the fluids inside the cell. During a hypotonic arrangement, the fluids immediately around the cell have a lower solute content than the fluids inside the cell. | Equal amounts of each solute are present in isotonic solutions. |
| The Preservation Use | Effective against food preservation are hypertonic solutions. For preservation, hypotonic solutions continue to be useless. | In general, isotonic liquids are inefficient for preserving food. |
| The Osmotic Pressure | Compared to other liquids, hypertonic fluids have a higher osmotic pressure. Solutions with hypotonic pressure zones are those. | Osmotic pressure is identical in isotonic liquids. |
| Effect on the Cells |
When cells are exposed to hypertonic solutions, they shrink.
Under hypotonic conditions, cells expand. | Solutions that are isotonic have no effect on cells. |
What are Hypertonic and Hypotonic Solutions?
Now, in comparison to another solution, a hypertonic solution has a higher solute concentration. The hypotonic solution is the opposite solution with a lower concentration. Also, scientists must compare the contents of cells to their surroundings. A cell is said to be hypotonic if it is placed in a hypertonic solution.
Now, the environment is hypotonic, or more weakly concentrated, if the cell's cytoplasm is a hypertonic solution. Due to the fact that solutes and water have a tendency to diffuse or flow along gradients, this is extremely important. One solution will eventually result from the combination of two solutions. The solutions will become isotonic when the water passes between the two solutions if the solutions are separated by a permeable barrier that only enables water to pass through. Despite having varying volumes, isotonic liquids have the same concentration.
So, the Cells depend heavily on the flow of ions and water. The ion gradients serve a variety of functions in cells. Now, to assist draw water into the central vacuole, for instance, plant cells need a hypertonic solution. By doing so, the chamber is widened and plants are able to exert turgor pressure within their cells. Moreover, an action potential or nerve signal is produced by animal cells, particularly nerve cells, by means of a hypertonic solution and its ions. Also, the positive and negative charges of the ions in the hypertonic solution are what drive the electrical activity of these cells.
The human brain contains unique proteins called osmoreceptors that are able to gauge the osmolarity of the environment surrounding the cell in order to control the amount of water in the body. Because there isn't enough water in the blood to hydrate the solutes, the environment can become a very hypertonic solution. While increasing the permeability of kidney membranes, the hypothalamus releases hormones. The water that would have been expelled is reabsorbed by the kidney and added back to the bloodstream. Normal physiological processes can continue when the blood gets more isotonic in comparison to the cells.
Salt water is a solution that is more hypertonic than fresh water. This suggests that a cytosol that is more hypertonic than salt water is required for cells to operate. In contrast to freshwater turtles, sea turtles, for instance, live in a considerably more hypertonic environment. A freshwater turtle will become dehydrated if placed in hypertonic seawater. The solute-dense ocean water will draw water from the body to balance the differential in osmolarity, as opposed to hydrating the body.
Now, sea turtles and other aquatic animals have created special techniques to get rid of extra salts to get around this problem. Salts enter the bloodstream from the digestive system. So, they are taken out once they get to the salt gland. Next, as a result, the internal environment becomes more solute-rich without losing too much water to the outside world.
A solution that contains fewer solutes than another solution is said to be hypotonic. Without a solution for comparison, a solution cannot be hypotonic, isotonic, or hypertonic. One way to describe the solute content of one solution in comparison to another is as hypotonic. It aids scientists in describing cells in biology. Scientists can predict the direction in which the water gradient and solute gradients will emerge by looking at the osmolarity (concentration of a solution in number of solutes per liter) of various solutions.
Every solute in a solution has the propensity to scatter away from one another until uniformly dispersed because of the features of diffusion. This is mostly brought on by interactions between polar water molecules and the solutes in aqueous solutions. Different charges are present at the molecule's opposing ends, and these charges temporarily connect with other charged regions of solute molecules to generate hydrogen bonds. More water molecules can enter the area where solutes are concentrated because water molecules cluster around them, pushing them away.
As a result, if you add a hypotonic solution to a hypertonic solution, the mixture will initially have concentration highs and lows before swiftly achieving equilibrium. The water will migrate from the hypotonic solution into the hypertonic solution until the two solutions are isotonic with one another if these two solutions are separated by a membrane that only allows water to pass through it.
The plasma membrane, which encloses cells, is only a semipermeable sack that encloses a solution. While allowing water to osmotically permeate through the plasma membrane and into the cytoplasm, the plasma membrane is able to prevent solutes from crossing the cell membrane. Membrane transport proteins are specialized proteins that aid in the movement of particular solutes across the membrane. Aquaporins, another class of proteins, maintain channels that are only open to water.
All cells must control their solute concentration in order to prevent drying out or becoming overly water-filled. An environment that is more hypertonic and contains more solutes will cause a cell with a hypotonic cytoplasm to lose water. To balance the two solutions, water is extracted from the cell. A cell is considered to have been plasmolyzed if the cytoplasm in it is significantly hypotonic compared to its surroundings. For cells, which depend on water for several chemical reactions, this is nearly always a negative situation.
When things go wrong, the environment may be hypotonic in comparison to the cell. Water from the surroundings tends to diffuse into the cell in this situation. The cell may lyse if the hypotonic solution in the surroundings is too powerful (split open). Cells can regulate this water flow through a variety of ways. A cell wall is built up around bacterial, fungal, and plant cells to prevent them from bursting. Different polysaccharides, proteins, and other substances make up this cell wall. Turgor pressure is produced as water fills the cell and pushes up against the cell wall.
Now, by preventing the inward flow of water, this pressure aids in forcing water back out of the cell. Also, a single plant cell is depicted here under various settings. Moreover, a turgid plant cell in a hypotonic solution is depicted in the cell on the extreme right.
What is an Isotonic Solution?
A solution that has the same osmotic pressure, or solute concentration, as yet another solution is said to be isotonic. Water is flowing equally into and out of either solution if a semipermeable membrane is used to separate the two. Despite the fact that water is flowing in both directions, there is no water flow between both the two solutions. In order to support cellular functions, some cells in biology need to be kept in an isotonic solution. Many animal cells depend on the stability of the surroundings to preserve their form because they lack a cell wall to protect them from the impact of water pressure. To make isotonic fluids to bathe their cells in, the majority of animals control the pH and osmotic pressure of the fluids inside of their bodies.
Only in quantities that match those found inside the cell can this solution deliver nutrients and water.
Blood cells operate normally when the plasma surrounding them is an isotonic solution when compared to the solution inside the blood cells. The cells can transport water and nutrients into and out of the cells thanks to the isotonic fluid. In order for blood cells to carry out their duty of supplying oxygen and other nutrients to other regions of the body, this is necessary. The cells will get plasmolyzed and run out of water if they are in a hypertonic environment, which prevents them from carrying out cellular processes. The cells will lyse and release their contents into the bloodstream if they are in a hypotonic environment. Along with potentially harmful side effects, this can result in significant blood cell loss.
The solution that contains the medicine must be an isotonic solution, compared to the patient's blood, to prevent either of the undesirable circumstances from occurring during the transfusion of nutrients and medicine. Utilizing specialized salts and sugars that merely serve as solutes to dilute or enhance a material, the osmolarity of the IV fluid can be altered. When a medication is administered through an IV, blood cells won't be harmed because it is an isotonic solution relative to the blood.
The goal of osmosis and tonicity is to balance the concentrations between the inside and exterior of these membranes. The system is not isotonic when that equilibrium is reached.
There is almost no water flow since water enters the cell at the same rate as it leaves. The majority of biological cells place the highest priority on this balance because it creates a stable form for the cellular structure. Our RBCs prefer this situation above the other two in order to prevent function loss.
They are comparative terms that are always moving and changing as humans consume or do not consume fluids, permeability solutes (such as salts) flow to and from cells, and any other factor affects their levels. This is because these things occur in living bodies. In contrast to human cells, plant cells prefer to be hypotonic rather than isotonic because it increases turgidity and keeps the cells in a much more rigid and powerful structure.
Main Differences Between Hypertonic, Hypotonic and Isotonic Solution In Points
- In a hypertonic configuration, the solute concentration in the fluids immediately surrounding the cell is higher than that in the fluids inside the cell. Throughout the hypotonic configuration, the fluids immediately around the cell have a lower solute content than the fluids inside the cell. Equal amounts of each solute are present in isotonic solutions.
- Effective against food preservation are hypertonic solutions. For preservation, hypotonic solutions continue to be useless. In general, isotonic liquids are inefficient for preserving food.
- Compared to other liquids, hypertonic fluids have a higher osmotic pressure. Solutions with hypotonic pressure zones are those. Osmotic pressure is identical in isotonic liquids.
- When cells are exposed to hypertonic solutions, they shrink. Under hypotonic conditions, cells expand. Solutions that are isotonic have no effect on cells.
- Lower Dissolvable Capacity is a fixation in hypertonic solutions. There is also a strong soluble fixation in the case of hypotonic fluids. The dissolvable fixation in the case of isotonic solutions is comparable and adequate.
Conclusion
Hence, now we got to know the major differences between hypertonic, hypotonic and isotonic solutions.
References
- Buckley, G. (2021, January 15). Hypertonic Solution. Retrieved from biology dictionary: https://biologydictionary.net/hypertonic-solution/
- Hypotonic Solution. (2019, October 4). Retrieved from biology dictionary: https://biologydictionary.net/hypotonic-solution/
- Isotonic Solution. (2019, April 7). Retrieved from biology dictionary: https://biologydictionary.net/isotonic-solution/
