This membrane is partially permeable, very flexible, and has fluid properties, in which embedded proteins and phospholipid molecules are constantly moving laterally across the membrane because of the forces generated by their vibrations. This allows it to form liposomes spontaneously, or small lipid vesicles, which can then be used to transport materials into living organisms and study diffusion rates into or out of a cell membrane. When placed in water, phospholipids form a bilayer, where the hydrophobic tails line up against each other, forming a membrane with hydrophilic heads on both sides extending out into the water. There is only one type of phospholipid with a sphingosine backbone sphingomyelin.ĭue to its polar nature, the head of a phospholipid is hydrophilic (attracted to water) the nonpolar tails are hydrophobic (not attracted to water). Phospholipids with a glycerol backbone are known as glycerophospholipids or phosphoglycerides. They define the compartmentation of organelles. Phospholipids are a major component of all biological membranes, along with glycolipids and cholesterol. Phospholipids are a class of lipids formed from four components: fatty acids, a negatively-charged phosphate group, an alcohol and a backbone. It is usually found with cholesterol molecules which are found in-between the spaces of the phospholipid. The structure of the phospholipid molecule generally consists of hydrophobic tails and a hydrophilic head. The first phospholipid identified as such in biological tissues was lecithin, or phosphatidylcholine, in the egg yolk, by Theodore Nicolas Gobley, a French chemist and pharmacist, in 1847. Most phospholipids contain a diglyceride, a phosphate group, and a simple organic molecule such as choline one exception to this rule is sphingomyelin, which is derived from sphingosine instead of glycerol. Definition: Phospholipids are a class of lipids that are a major component of all cell membranes as they can form lipid bilayers.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |