Biological Molecules - Lipids Flashcards
What are triglycerides made up of?
Contains 1 glycerol molecule and 3 fatty acids
What if there’s a practical where there’s mixed oil and ph indicator and you are asked to explain the drop in pH after mixing in lipase?
Remember triglyceride is broken down by lipase to release glycerol and fatty acids and the fatty acids are what makes the mixture acidic
DRAW THE STRUCTURE OF A TRIGLYCERIDE
+ the condensation reaction between the glycerols and fatty acids
(Check in biology book pg10)
What bond is formed after a condensation reaction?
An ester bond (formed between organic alcohol and acid)
Whats the reverse of a condensation reaction?
Hydrolysis reaction
What does a saturated fatty acid chain mean? + draw example
Means each carbon is saturated aka filled with carbon on each side and means there are no double bonds
What is meant by an unsaturated fatty acid?
Only 1 on each end because each carbon can only make 4 bonds and means they have double bonds
Whats a polyunsaturated fatty acid?
Even more than one double bond
What do the double bond fatty acids have?
Kinks
Whats a phospholipid?
Another type of lipid which makes up the plasma membrane
Whats a phospholipid made up of?
Hydrophilic (charged and binds to water easily) phosphate group
Fatty acids 2x
Glycerol
How will it organise itself in a plasma membrane (phospholipids)?
It’ll organise itself into a bilayer
Whats the phosphate head like?
Hydrophilic aka water loving
It can deal with charge stuff as water is a polar molecule
What are the fatty acid tails like?
Are hydrophobic (hate water)
Humans are mainly made up of water. So in membranes that separate or compartmentalise stuff they will have the phosphate bit facing the outside or towards the aqueous bit, whereas fatty acids will face one another, shielding themselves away from it
Why do we get an oil layer when we mix water and oil?
Because similar properties will go together whereas stuff will opposite properties will not mix very well
Can lipid soluble (non polar) molecules diffuse through cell membrane?
Yes, via simple diffusion eg O2 steroid hormones