Plasma membrane is described as" protein iceberg in a sea of lipids". Why?
Singer and Nicolson explain the plasma membrane as a fluid mosaic model. The proteins and lipids are organized in a mosaic pattern. The matrix is a viscous fluid composed of two layers of phospholipid molecules that contain two types of globular proteins: peripheral or extrinsic proteins and integral or intrinsic proteins. Enzymatic proteins that are located on the surface or close to the membrane can migrate across the matrix and aid in the active and passive transport of ions across the membrane.
