The cell membrane is a wafer-thin layer that contains every living cell, delineating the cell from the environment that surrounds it. Walled by this cell membrane are the cell’s components that are water-soluble and often highly charged.
In the surrounding water-based environment, outside the cell are ions, acids, and alkali that are toxic to the cell and nutrients that the cell must absorb to thrive. The cell membrane has two functions: first, to be a barrier, maintaining the parts of the cell and discarded substances as a gate permitting transport into the cell of vital nutrients and the ridding the cell of waste.
Cell membranes are made of mostly fatty acid-based lipids and proteins. Membrane proteins are also two types, with one type being extrinsic proteins and intrinsic proteins. The chemical formation of the cell membrane makes it the perfect place for growing and dividing cells.