II.

LIPIDS

 group of compounds that are insoluble in water but are soluble in nonpolar solvents (hexane
and ether)
 Function as secondary sources of immediate and stored energy.
 Make up most of the structure of the cell membrane.
 Lipids are not polymers with repeated monomer subunits
 Composed of fatty acids (building blocks of lipids)
 FATTY ACIDS- long chain of carboxylic acids
 SATURATED fatty acids- fatty acids without double bonds
 UNSATURATED fatty acids – fatty acids with double bonds

 Fatty acids can be named using shorthand notations.

o Ex. 1 Shorthand for “Palmitic acid” is 16:0, number 16 represents the number of
carbon atoms. The number zero refers to number of double bonds
o Ex. 2 Shorthand for “Oleic acid” is 18:1Δ9, 18 means 18 carbon atoms, 1 means 1
double bond, superscript Δ9 corresponds to the position of the double bond (C9
and C10)

 Triglycerides
o Fatty acids are most often bonded to a molecule called “glycerol” ( a 3 carbon
atom molecule, each containing a hydroxyl group)
o Esters of glycerol with 3 fatty acid molecules are called triglycerides or triglycerols
(TAGS)
 General structure of a triglyceride showing
glycerol as backbone and 3 molecules of fatty
acids

 Phospholipids
o Important types of lipids that are found in large quantities in cell membranes
o Structure is somewhat similar to that of a triglyceride except 1 fatty acid is
replaced by a polar phosphate group.

 Waxes
o Made up of fatty acids combined with long chain alcohols.
o Soft, solid fats with low melting points
o
 Steroids
o Lipids that do not contain fatty acids.
o Characterized by the presence of four ring system
o Ex. Cholesterol (important component of cell membrane)
o Ex. Some sex hormones (testosterone and progesterone)