Lipids

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Lipids
• Lipids are a class of biological molecules defined by low solubility in
water and high solubility in nonpolar solvents.
• Lipids are a heterogeneous group of compounds including fats, oils,
steroids, waxes, and related compounds.
• Lipids fall into two main groups.
1. One group, which consists of open-chain compounds with polar
head groups and long nonpolar tails, includes fatty acids,
triacylglycerols, sphingolipids, waxes, phosphoacylglycerols, and
glycolipids.
2. The second major group consists of fused ring compounds, the
steroids; an important representative of this group is cholesterol.

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1. Open-chain compounds with polar head
groups and long nonpolar tails
1. Fatty acids
2. Triacylglycerols
3. Phosphoacylglycerols
4. Waxes
5. Sphingolipids
6. Glycolipids

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1. Fatty acids

• Fatty acid has a carboxyl group at the polar end and a hydrocarbon
chain at the nonpolar tail.
• Fatty acids are amphipathic compounds because the carboxyl group
is hydrophilic and the hydrocarbon tail is hydrophobic.
• Fatty acid that occurs in a living system normally contains an even
number of carbon atoms, and the hydrocarbon chain is usually
unbranched.

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• Unsaturated fatty acid – there are carbon–carbon double bonds in the chain.
o Unsaturated fatty acids have lower melting points than saturated ones.
o The stereochemistry at the double bond is usually cis rather than trans.
o Monounsaturated fatty acid – contains only one C=C double bond
o Polyunsaturated fatty acid – contains two or more C=C double bonds

• Saturated fatty acid – there are only single bonds in the chain.

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Draw the following fatty acids.

1. cis-,cis-,cis-,cis-5,8,11,14-Icosatetraenoic acid
2. n-Hexadecanoic acid
3. n-Tetracosanoic acid
4. cis-,cis-,cis-9,12,15-Octadecatrienoic acid
5. cis-,cis-9,12-Octadecadienoic acid

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• Nonessential fatty acids – can be synthesized in the body
• Essential fatty acids – cannot be synthesized and must be obtained
from the diet
o alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid)

o linoleic acid (an omega-6 fatty acid)

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 2. Triacylglycerols (triglyceride)
• Glycerol – a simple compound • Triacylglycerol – all three of the
that contains three hydroxyl alcohol groups form ester linkages
groups. with fatty acids.

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• Triacylglycerols do not occur as components of membranes (as do
other types of lipids), but they accumulate in adipose tissue
(primarily fat cells) and provide a means of storing fatty acids,
particularly in animals.
• They serve as concentrated stores of metabolic energy. Complete
oxidation of fats yields about 9 kcal/g, in contrast with 4 kcal/g for
carbohydrates and protein
• Lipases – hydrolyze the ester linkages of triacylglycerols
• Depending on their fatty acid compositions, TAG’s may be classified
as:
o Fats – contain a large proportion of saturated fatty acids; solid at
room temperature
o Oils – contains a large proportion of unsaturated fatty acid; liquids at
room temperature
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3. Phosphoacylglycerols
(glycerophospholipids or phosphoglycerides)

Amphipathic molecules; contain a polar head

(phosphate) and a hydrophilic tail
Major components of cellular membranes (part of the
lipid bilayer.

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4. Waxes
• Waxes are complex mixtures of
esters of long-chain carboxylic acids
and long chain alcohols.
• They frequently serve as protective
coatings for both plants and
animals.
• In plants, they coat stems, leaves,
and fruit; in animals, they are found
on fur, feathers, and skin.

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5. Sphingolipids
• They are particularly abundant in the nervous system

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6. Glycolipids
Their role is to maintain the stability of the cell membrane and to facilitate cellular
recognition

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2. Steroids
• Steroids are lipids because they are hydrophobic and insoluble in
water, but they do not resemble lipids since they have a structure
composed of four fused rings.

• Cholesterol is the most common steroid and is the precursor to

steroid sex hormones.

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Lipid Soluble
Vitamins
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• Vitamin A – serves as the site of the primary photochemical reaction in vision
• Vitamin D – regulates calcium (and phosphorus) metabolism
• Vitamin E – serves as an antioxidant
• Vitamin K – has a regulatory function in blood clotting

Vitamin D3

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Identify the type of lipid
1 2 3

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4 5 6

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1. All of the following statements are true about lipids, EXCEPT that
_____.
a. all lipids are fats
b. lipids are biological molecules that are insoluble in water
c. lipids are good at storing energy
d. steroid hormones like testosterone are lipids

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2. What is the functional group that is formed when glycerol reacts
with carboxylic acids to form triglycerides?

a. Carboxylic acid
b. Carbohydrate
c. Ester
d. Ether

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3. Which of the following is the best explanation for why soaps can
dissolve oily substances?

a. The hydrocarbon tails of soap are nonpolar so, they are soluble in oil.
b. The hydrocarbon tails of soap are polar so they are soluble in oil.
c. The charged groups in soap are polar so they are soluble in water.
d. The charged groups in soap are nonpolar, so they are soluble in oil.

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4. Lipids serve a number of functions in living organisms. Which of the
following does NOT match a lipid with its function.

a. Oils – waterproofing feathers and fur

b. Steroid hormones – energy storage
c. Cholesterol – maintaining membrane fluidity

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5. What creates a steroids?
a. 4-fused carbon rings
b. 3-fused carbon rings
c. 2-fused carbon rings

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6. Which specific lipid has the following characteristics:

1. Makes up the cell membrane

2. Has a polar, hydrophilic head
3. Has 2 non-polar, hydrophobic tails

a. Steroids
b. TAG
c. Phospholipids

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7. A “kinky structure” due to the double bonds between carbon atoms
creates a lipid known as what?

a. Saturated fatty acid

b. Unsaturated fatty acids
c. Triacylglycerol

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8. TAG’s include both
a. Fats and oils
b. Saturated fats and waxes
c. Waxes and steroids

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9. Saturated fats are ____ at room temperature
a. Solid
b. Liquid
c. Gas

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Biological
Membrane
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• Membranes not only separate cells from the external environment
but also play important roles in transport of specific substances into
and out of cells.
The Fluid-Mosaic Model of Membrane Structure (Singer-Nicolson
Model)
According to fluid mosaic model, a membrane is noncovalent
heteropolymer of a lipid bilayer and associated proteins.

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Features of Biological Membranes

• Membrane fluidity – degree of resistance of membrane components

to movement; affected by membrane lipid composition.
o Unsaturated fatty acids – increase membrane fluidity
o Cholesterol – stabilizes membrane due to its rigid ring system and
formation of van der Waals interaction.

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• Lipids and Proteins Undergo a Variety of Movements in
Membranes
Flippases, Floppases, and Scramblases: Proteins That Redistribute Lipids Across the
Membrane
1. Flippase – transfers phospholipids from the outer to the inner membrane
leaflet; ATP-dependent
2. Floppase – transfers phospholipids from the inner to the outer membrane
leaflet; ATP-dependent
3. Scramblase – bidirectional; Ca2+-activated

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• Selective permeability – hydrophobic regions prevent transport of
ionic and polar substances across the membrane, while nonpolar
molecules can simply diffuse down their concentration gradient

A family of integral proteins discovered by Peter Agre, the aquaporins

(AQPs), provide channels for rapid movement of water molecules
across all plasma membranes.
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• Self sealing – small breaks in the plasma membrane spontaneously
seal via lateral movement of membrane lipids
• Asymmetry – lipid and protein composition of each half of a bilayer is
different

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Membrane Transport

• Transport processes are vitally important to all life forms, because all
cells must exchange materials with their environment.
• Transport proteins are all classed as integral membrane proteins.

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Transport Mechanism
1. Passive transport
• A substance moves from a region of higher concentration to one of
lower concentration. In other words, the movement of the substance
is in the same direction as a concentration gradient, and the cell does
not expend energy.
o Simple diffusion - a molecule moves directly through the membrane
without interacting with another molecule. Ex. Small, uncharged
molecules, such as O2, N2, and CO2
o Facilitated diffusion – for certain large or charged substances

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2. Active transport

• A substance moves from a region

of lower concentration to one of
higher concentration (against a
concentration gradient), and this
process requires the cell to
expend energy.
1. Primary – uses ATP
2. Secondary – uses an
electrochemical gradient

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Classification of transporters

1. Carriers – bind to substrate and

undergo a structural change to
transport it across the membrane
2. Channels – tunnel-like transmembrane
protein; often gated
– generally allow
transmembrane movement at rates
several orders of magnitude greater than
those typical of carriers

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Ion Channels
Protein molecules that span across the cell membrane allowing the
passage of ions from one side of the membrane to the other.

1. Ligand-gated – requires binding of small molecule

2. Voltage gated – a change in transmembrane electrical potential
causes a charged protein domain to move relative to the membrane,
opening or closing the ion channel.

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