Explain the transport of CO2

1.	Explain the transport of CO2
Answer» Plasma and red blood cells transport carbon dioxide. This is because they are readily soluble in water.\tThrough plasma:\tAbout 7% of CO2\xa0is carried in a dissolved state through plasma. Carbon dioxide combines with water and forms carbonic acid.\t{tex}CO_2\\;+H_2O\\rightarrow\\underset{Carbonic\\;acid)}{H_2CO_3}{/tex}\tSince the process of forming carbonic acid is slow, only a small amount of carbon dioxide is carried this way.\tThrough RBCs:\tAbout 20 – 25% of CO2\xa0is transported by the red blood cells as carbaminohaemoglobin. Carbon dioxide binds to the amino groups on the polypeptide chains of haemoglobin and forms a compound known as carbaminohaemoglobin.\tThrough sodium bicarbonate:\tAbout 70% of carbon dioxide is transported as sodium bicarbonate. As CO2\xa0diffuses into the blood plasma, a large part of it combines with water to form carbonic acid in the presence of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase. Carbonic anhydrase is a zinc enzyme that speeds up the formation of carbonic acid. This carbonic acid dissociates into bicarbonate (HCO3–) and hydrogen ions (H+).\t{tex}\\mathrm{CO}_{2}+\\mathrm{H}_{2} \\mathrm{O} \\stackrel{\\text { Carbonicanhydrase }}{\\longrightarrow} \\mathrm{H}_{2} \\mathrm{CO}_{3}{/tex}\t{tex}\\mathrm{H}_{2} \\mathrm{CO}_{3} \\frac{\\text { Carbonic }}{\\text { anhydrase }} \\mathrm{HCO}_{3}^{-}+\\mathrm{H}^{+}{/tex}

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