Non osmotic hemolysis In the case of hemolysis is not due to

Non- osmotic hemolysis: In the case of hemolysis is not due to osmotic swelling but rather to destruction of the plasma membrane which can no longer prevent loss of hemoglobin. Such hemolysis can be observed by shaking a cell suspension with either detergent, or other strong lipid solvents. Why lipid solvents? Please be specific in answer and explanation. For animal physiology class.

Solution

Plasma membrane is composed of phospholipid bilayer which has two part, i.e a hydrophobic head an a hydrophilic tail. On shaking with lipid solvent the hydrophobic portion gets dissolved in lipid leading to rupture in the plasma membrane which ultimately leads to hemolysis.