Lipids Flashcards
What are eicosanoids?
They area class of molecules derived from 20-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids
What are the major classes of fatty acids & lipids?
- Waxes
- Triacylglycerols
- Glycerophospholipids
- Sphingolipids
- Steroids
- Eicosanoids
What are membrane lipids ?
They are found all cellular organisms and are essential components of cell memebranes
What are the major kinds of cell membrane lipids ?
- Phospholipids
- Glycolipids
- Cholesterol
What are phospholipids and what is their structure ?
They are a class of lipids and they are built up from alcohols, fatty acids and phosphate ester groups
What are glycolipids and what is their structure ?
They are a class of lipids and they are made of an alcohol, a fatty acid and a small group of sugar (no phosphate)
what is cholesterol ?
It is part of a class of lipids (steroids) and the only sterol found associated with long fatty acids in mammals.
And is made of a hydrocarbon tail, a central sterol nucleus made of 4 hydrocarbon rings and a hydroxyl group.
What is the nature of a cell membrane ?
It is made up of a bilayer of phospholipids describes as a fluid mosaic model
What is the solubility of lipids ? (LIPID PROPERTIES)
- Low in water
- High in non aqueous solvents
What are the biological functions of lipids? (LIPID PROPERTIES0
- Fuel molecules
- Specific metabolites (e.g. hormones)
- Structural roles ~ membranes
- Protection & insulation
- Lipid rich myelin sheath around nerves
What is the classification of lipids ?
(LIPID PROPERTIES )
- Simple lipids
- Triacylglycerols
- Sohingomyelins
- Glycolipids
- Phospholipids
- Steroids & eicosanoids
What re fatty acids ?
They are basic units of lipid molecules and they determine lipid properties
What re fatty acids ?
They are basic units of lipid molecules and they determine lipid properties
What are waxes (example of simple lipids) ?
- There are esters with an alcohol and a long chain carboxylic acid and
- They are totally insoluble in water
- A mixture of Peters of fatty acids with long chain alcohols
What are triacyglycerols + characteristics ?
- Uncharged, non- polar molecules that are hydrophobic
- When stored in a fatty tissue they coalesce (come together to form one mass) and interior of an adipocyte is occupied by one large fat droplet with the nuclei pushed to one side
