Microbiology: A Human Perspective 7th Edition by Eugene Nester,Martha Nester,Denise Anderson, Evans Roberts

Exercise 1

This graph shows facilitated diffusion of a compound across a cytoplasmic membrane and into a cell. As the external concentration of the compound is increased, the rate of uptake increases until it reaches a point where it slows and then begins to plateau. This is not the case with passive diffusion, where the rate of uptake continually increases. Why does the rate of uptake slow and then eventually plateau with facilitated diffusion?