Lipids and membranes Flashcards
What are fatty acids?
Long chain carboxylic acids
What can fatty acids be?
Saturated or unsaturated
What is a fat?
An ester between fatty acids and glycerol
What is an oil?
Fat made from unsaturated fatty acids
What are the two types of Unsaturated fatty acids?
Cis
Trans
How are lipids formed?
They are hydrolysed triglycerides
What are lipids?
Long carbon chains attached to a polar head
What is the simplest form of a lipid?
Salts of fatty acids (soap)
What are micelles?
Droplets of lipids where the hydrophilic heads point outwards and the hydrophobic tails point inwards
When do micelles form?
In water
Where are lipids in the cell membrane often derived from?
Triglycerides
What lipids form bilayers in water?
Phospholipids
Sphingolipids
What is found on the cell membrane?
Various proteins and enzymes
What lipids make up the cell membrane?
Phosphoglycerides
Sphingolipids
Sterols
What determines the properties of the cell membrane?
The composition