What type of proteins traverse from one side of a membrane to the other side?

Integral proteins are embedded directly within the lipid bilayer of cell membranes and can span from one side of the membrane to the other. This structure allows them to play crucial roles in various functions, including acting as pathways for substances to pass through the membrane and participating in signaling processes. Their hydrophobic regions interact with the lipid tails of the membrane, while their hydrophilic regions can interact with the aqueous environments on either side of the membrane.

While channel proteins and carrier proteins are specialized types of integral proteins that assist in the transport of substances across the membrane, the term "integral proteins" encompasses all proteins that span the membrane. Peripheral proteins are not embedded but rather associated with the membrane's surface, thus not traversing the membrane.