Vertical Diffusion Cell Diagram

A jacketed diffusion cell cut through the middle, from the donor chamber down to the stirrer.

Vertical Diffusion Cell Diagram

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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Donor chamber
  2. Receptor chamber
  3. Membrane
  4. Sampling port
  5. Water jacket
  6. Stir bar
  7. Clamp
  8. Magnetic stirrer

Own drawing from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

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All 8 parts on the diagram

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The glass cell 5

  1. Donor chamber It holds the substance being tested, on top of the membrane.
  2. Receptor chamber It holds the liquid that catches what passes through.
  3. Membrane The sheet between the two chambers that the substance must cross.
  4. Sampling port The side arm where samples of the liquid are taken out.
  5. Water jacket Warm water flows round the chamber to hold its temperature steady.

What is added to it 3

  1. Stir bar A small magnet that spins to keep the liquid mixed.
  2. Clamp It holds the two chambers together with the membrane between them.
  3. Magnetic stirrer The base under the cell that turns the stir bar.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) HardwareX, an open-source diffusion cell autosampler (2026, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC12808608 : an upper donor chamber and a lower receptor chamber with the membrane between them, receptor fluid that is constantly stirred, the sampling port that extends from the receptor chamber, a water jacket to hold the temperature, the magnetic stirrer. (2) Journal of Tissue Engineering, In vitro and ex vivo models of the oral mucosa (2025, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC11815840 : vertical diffusion cells as the general name, donor compartment, receptor compartment, sampling (side) port, stirring bar; the cell is warmed in a heated water bath. (3) Drug Delivery, a simulation paper with a labeled figure of the cell (2026, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13618095 : donor chamber, skin membrane, receiver chamber, sampling port, stirring bar, the membrane secured with a pinch clamp. (4) Drug Delivery and Translational Research (2026, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13294149 : vertical cells, donor compartment, sampling port, a pinch clamp, a magnetically stirred receptor. (5) A maker's product page, https://permegear.com/franz-cells/ : jacketed and unjacketed cells, donor chamber, receptor chamber, sampling port, the clamp for the joint, the stirbar, stirrers. Counted once. (6) Wikipedia, counted once: Absorption (skin), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_(skin) : two chambers separated by a membrane, the test product on the membrane in the top chamber, fluid in the bottom chamber sampled at intervals; and Magnetic stirrer, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_stirrer : a magnetic stirrer makes a stir bar in the liquid spin, driven by a rotating magnet in the stirrer beneath the vessel. There is no Wikipedia article on the cell itself. (7) Plants, a paper that follows release from a plant extract in this cell (2024, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC11435264 : the sample in the donor compartment, the receptor compartment filled with medium, constantly mixed by magnetic stirring and held at temperature using a water jacket and a pump. (8) Pharmaceutics (2024, open access), https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC11510483 : the cell held at temperature by a circulating water jacket, the membrane clamped between donor and receptor chambers, the receptor fluid stirred. Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A vertical diffusion cell diagram shows the glass cell that laboratories call a Franz diffusion cell. It measures how much of a substance passes through a membrane, from the chamber above to the liquid below.

Read the full guide

Two chambers and a membrane

The donor chamber sits on top and holds the substance being tested. The membrane lies flat under it. Below is the receptor chamber, full of liquid. A clamp holds the two chambers together with the membrane between them.

Mixing, warming, sampling

A stir bar on the floor of the receptor chamber keeps the liquid mixed, turned by the magnetic stirrer underneath. Water flowing through the water jacket holds the temperature steady. Samples of the liquid are taken out through the sampling port.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a vertical diffusion cell?

A donor chamber on top, a membrane, and a receptor chamber below with a sampling port. A clamp holds them together. Many cells also have a water jacket, and a stir bar inside turned by a magnetic stirrer.

What is the difference between the donor and receptor chambers?

The donor chamber is the upper one, where the test substance is placed on the membrane. The receptor chamber is the lower one, filled with liquid that collects whatever passes through the membrane.

What is the membrane in a diffusion cell?

It is the sheet the test substance has to pass through. Studies use skin or a man-made membrane, held flat between the two chambers.

What is the water jacket for?

It keeps the cell at a steady temperature. Water flows through the space between the jacket and the receptor chamber. Cells without a jacket are warmed in a water bath or a dry bath.

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