Placental GLUT1 Kinetics — 2D Saturation & Flow Diagram

Maternal & Placental Parameters

Maternal blood glucose 5.5 mM

GLUT1 transporter density 70

Syncytiotrophoblast thickness 6.0 µm

Simulation speed 1.0×

Live Transport State

Net flux J

0.00 mM/min

Fetal glucose

2.5 mM

Maternal-side carrier saturation

47.8%

J = Vmax·[Cm/(Km+Cm) − Cf/(Km+Cf)]

Maternal blood glucose (intervillous space)

Fetal capillary glucose

GLUT1 saturation / gate

How it works

This is the 2D kinetics-dashboard companion to the 3D particle model. Instead of rendering individual glucose molecules crossing a rendered membrane, it plots the underlying carrier-kinetics mathematics directly: a Michaelis-Menten saturation curve, a two-tank compartment/flow diagram, and a scrolling time-series — three 2D-native views of the exact same equation.

J = Vmax · [ Cm /(Km+Cm)  −  Cf /(Km+Cf) ]

Cm, Cf : maternal / fetal glucose concentration (mM)
Km     : ≈ 6 mM, apparent affinity of placental GLUT1 for glucose
Vmax   : transport capacity, ∝ transporter density ÷ diffusion distance
dCf/dt : J − k·Cf   (k = fetal glucose utilisation rate)

Saturation curve (top right) — the classic hyperbolic v(S) = Vmax·S/(Km+S) plot. The orange dot marks the maternal-side operating point, the blue dot the fetal-side point; the gap between their heights on the curve is exactly the net flux J.
Tank diagram (left) — liquid level = concentration; the pink gate width = transporter density, gate pulse rate = carrier saturation, and particles flowing through the gate are paced to |J|, in the flux direction.
Strip chart (bottom right) — Cf(t) and J(t) scrolling in real time, so you can watch the system settle to steady state (J = k·Cf) as you change parameters.
Membrane thickness raises Vmax ∝ 1/thickness, exactly as in the 3D model — thinner membranes (late gestation) transfer nutrients more efficiently at the same transporter count.

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