9744 H2 BIOLOGY LECTURE NOTES | JC 1

Biomolecules (Lipids)

CORE IDEA 1: THE CELL AND BIOMOLECULES OF LIFE

TOPIC 1.2: BIOMOLECULES (Lipids)

Learning Outcomes

You should be able to:

(g) describe the structure and properties of the following monomers:

ii. glycerol and fatty acids (in lipids)

(h) describe the formation and breakage of the following bonds:

ii. ester bond

(i) describe the structures and properties of the following biomolecules and explain how these
are related to their roles in living organisms:
iv. triglyceride
v. phospholipid

Use the knowledge gained in this section in new situations or to solve related problems.

Reference
Raven, P H, Johnson, G B, Mason, K A, Losos, J and Singer, S (2013) Biology (10th Edition)
(McGraw-Hill) ISBN 007338307

Reece, J B, Urry, L A, Cain, M L, Wasserman, S A, Minorsky, P V and Jackson, R B (2017)

Campbell Biology (11th Edition) (Pearson Higher Education) ISBN 10: 0-134-09341-0

Note: These textbooks and references are available in our library. You may wish to borrow them to supplement
your reading when necessary.

Contents
Lipids

Components of Lipids 2

Triglycerides 4
Phospholipids 8

Steroids 11
Test for Fats (The Ethanol Emulsion test) 13

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Biomolecules (Lipids)

1 LIPIDS

 Lipids are a diverse group of hydrophobic molecules with no general formula,

consisting mainly of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) in variable ratios, and
may include other elements such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N).

 All lipids have low solubility (ability to form hydrogen bonds with water molecules) in
polar solvents (e.g. water) but high solubility in organic solvents (e.g. acetone). This
non-polar, hydrophobic property of lipids is due to the presence of long hydrocarbon
chains.

 Lipids in liquid state are known as oils while in solid state are generally referred to as
fats.

Fig. 1: Classification of lipids.

COMPONENTS OF LIPIDS

Learning Outcome (g)(ii):

Describe the structure and properties of the following glycerol and fatty acids (in lipids).

 Many lipids are built from a simple skeleton made up of two main kinds of molecules:
fatty acids and glycerol.

Fig. 2: Functional groups in glycerol (left) and a fatty acid (right).

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GLYCEROL

 Glycerol is an alcohol with 3 carbon atoms, each bearing a hydroxyl group (-OH).

 The presence of the polar OH groups allows glycerol to interact with water molecules, making
it soluble in water.

FATTY ACIDS

 Fatty acids are carboxylic acids with long-chain hydrocarbon side groups.

 A hydrocarbon chain (denoted as R in some instances) consists of a chain of carbon (C)

atoms to which hydrogen (H) atoms are attached.

 Due to these nonpolar C-H bonds, fatty acids are not soluble in water and are known as
hydrophobic (water-fearing).

 Hydrocarbon chains in fatty acids differ by length and degree of saturation.

o Length

 The hydrocarbon chain of fatty acids may differ by length (normally between 14 - 20
carbon atoms).

 An increase in length of the hydrocarbon chain results in increase in melting point of

fatty acids.

o Degree of Saturation

 In saturated fatty acids, the hydrocarbon chain does not contain carbon-carbon
double bond (C=C) and has the maximum possible number of H atoms.

 Examples of saturated fatty acids include acetic acid and palmitic acid.

 In unsaturated fatty acids, the hydrocarbon chain contains C=C bonds.

 One example of an unsaturated fatty acid is palmitoletic acid.

 Palmitoletic acid contains one C=C bond, which causes a kink in the molecule.

o An increase in degree of saturation results in an increase in melting points of fatty

acids.

With increase in degree of saturation, there is more hydrophobic interactions between

the fatty acid molecules, hence, higher temperature is required to break these bonds
resulting in higher melting point.

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Biomolecules (Lipids)

kink

Fig. 3: Palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid (top)

and Palmitoletic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid (bottom).

Learning Outcome (h)(ii):

Describe the formation and breakage of an ester bond.
Learning Outcome (i)(iv)&(v):
Describe the structures and properties of triglycerides and phospholipids, and explain how
these are related to their roles in living organisms:

1.1 TRIGLYCERIDES

o Triglycerides are the most abundant and functionally important lipid in the biological
system.

Structure and Formation of Triglycerides

o In a triglyceride, three non-polar, hydrophobic, hydrocarbon chains are joined to a

glycerol via the formation of 3 ester bonds.

o An ester bond is formed between a hydroxyl group (-OH) and a carboxyl group
(-COOH) via a condensation reaction. One water molecule is removed for each
fatty acid joined to the glycerol.

o Ester bonds can be broken by hydrolysis.

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Biomolecules (Lipids)

Fig. 4: Condensation reaction to form a triglyceride

o Due to the presence of 3 nonpolar fatty acid chains and the absence of polar OH
groups, triglyceride is hydrophobic.

CHECKPOINT (1)

The structures of glycerol and 3 fatty acids are given below. Using these structures, draw the
formation of a triglyceride.

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Biomolecules (Lipids)

CHECKPOINT (2)

The structure of a triglyceride is shown below.

Draw the hydrolysis of the triglyceride and label the products formed.

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Biomolecules (Lipids)

1.1.1 PROPERTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF TRIGLYCERIDES

1) Energy Storage

Property
 Fats have high calorific value.
One gram of fat (~38 kJ/g) stores twice as
much energy as one gram of carbohydrate
(~17 kJ/g).
Functions
 Upon oxidation (respiration), triglycerides
are able to yield twice as much energy per
unit mass than carbohydrates due to higher
proportion of energy storing C-H bonds,
making it a more compact energy reserve
than carbohydrates (i.e. less mass of fat for
the same amount of energy stored).

 Fats are insoluble in water.  Lipids are stored in adipose tissue as

anhydrous oil droplets (without water).
Thus, more fats can be stored for a given
weight. This is useful in animals and plant
seeds where movement and mobility are
important as their mass is kept to a
minimum.

 Lipids are not easily leached from cells.

Thus, lipids can be stored in large amounts
without affecting the water potential of
cells.

2) Heat Insulation

Property Functions
 Fats serve as heat insulators as they are  Adipocytes (fat cells) are specialised for the
poor conductors of heat. synthesis and storage of fats. This prevents
excessive heat loss, which is important for
hibernating animals living in cold climates
(e.g. polar bears) and aquatic animals (e.g.
whales), which store up large amount of
subcutaneous fat.

3) Buoyancy

Property Functions
 Fats is less dense than water.  Fats increase buoyancy in marine animals
as it is less dense than water (e.g. blubber
in whales). This is important for aquatic
animals that breathe atmospheric air as they
need to swim to the surface regularly.

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Biomolecules (Lipids)

4) Source of Water

Property Functions
 Complete oxidation of fats produces  Fats can serve as a source of water as
metabolic water. complete oxidation of fats produces
metabolic water. This is important for desert
animals (e.g. camel and kangaroo rat).

5) Mechanical Protection

Property Functions
 Fats acts as a shock absorber.  Fats provide protection against
mechanical damage. Fat is often found
under the skin and around delicate organs
such as kidneys.

1.2 PHOSPHOLIPIDS

 Phospholipids are lipids containing a phosphate group.

Structure and Formation of Phospholipids

 Phospholipids are made of 1 glycerol, 2 fatty acid chains and 1 phosphate group
(derived from phosphoric acid).

 The fatty acid chains are joined to glycerol via condensation reactions, with the
removal of 2 water molecules, resulting in the formation of ester bonds. The third
hydroxyl group of the glycerol is joined to a negatively charged phosphate group,
also via a condensation reaction.

 Additional small molecules, usually charged or polar, can be linked to the phosphate
group to form a variety of phospholipids.

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Fig. 5: Structure of phospholipid.

Property of phospholipids

 Phospholipids are amphipathic (i.e. have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic

regions).

o The phosphate group is negatively charged, forming the hydrophilic head.

o The two fatty acid chains made of nonpolar hydrocarbons, forming the
hydrophobic tails.

 Due to the amphipathic nature of phospholipids, they self-assemble in aqueous

medium (e.g. water) to form structures such as a lipid bilayer, a micelle, or a liposome.
The hydrophilic head faces the aqueous medium while the hydrophobic tails face the
interior, shielding the hydrophobic portion from water.

Fig. 6: Structure of (a) micelle and (b) phospholipid bilayer

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Biomolecules (Lipids)

1.2.1 FUNCTIONS OF PHOSPHOLIPIDS

1. Phospholipids are a major component of phospholipid bilayer of membranes of

cells and organelles.

This allows phospholipids to:

o act as a barrier to polar molecules and charged ions as its hydrophobic

fatty acid tails has a very low permeability to polar molecules and charged
ions.

o act as a boundary between the intracellular and extracellular aqueous

environment and allow compartmentalisation within a cell.

2. Fatty acid tails of phospholipids help in regulation of membrane fluidity.

3. Phospholipids that form micelles help in the transport of fats from the gut to the
liver.

Fig. 7: Molecular structure of a phospholipid and one of its arrangements in water.

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CHECKPOINT (3)
Fig 8 shows a phospholipid.

Fig. 8

On Fig. 8,
1. Circle and label the glycerol backbone, fatty acid tails and phosphate group.
2. Circle and label the ester bond and phosphoester bond.

1.3 STEROIDS

 Steroids are a group of lipids that includes steroid hormones (e.g. testosterone) and
cholesterol.

Structure and property of steroids

 Steroids have the general structure consisting of 4 interlinked carbon rings.

Fig. 9: Molecular structure of cholesterol.

 Steroids are insoluble in water and soluble in organic solvents.

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1.3.1 FUNCTIONS OF CHOLESTEROL

1. Component of Cell Surface Membrane

 Cholesterol is an important component of biological membranes. It helps in

regulation of membrane fluidity.

2. Metabolic Precursor

 Cholesterol is the metabolic precursor of steroid hormones (e.g. oestrogen and

testosterone), bile acids and vitamin D.

Cholesterol

Fig. 10: Location of cholesterol in the cell membrane.

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1.4 TEST FOR FATS (THE ALCOHOL EMULSION TEST)

Procedure

1. Add 2cm3 of ethanol to food sample. Mix well. Crush food sample if needed.
2. Filter if necessary.
3. Add 2cm3 of distilled water. Mix well.

Interpretation of observations

Observation Conclusion
A homogeneous (or clear) solution is formed with ethanol and Lipids are absent.
the solution remained homogeneous when water was added.
A homogeneous (or clear) solution is formed with ethanol and Lipids are present.
an emulsion was formed when water was added.

Fig. 11: The alcohol emulsion test

The Principle

 Lipids are insoluble in water and soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol (an
alcohol).

 After lipids have been dissolved in ethanol and then added to water, they will form tiny
dispersed droplets in the water, called an emulsion which appears white and cloudy.

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CHECKPOINT (4)
The diagram shows the structure of two lipid molecules.

State if the following statements are true (T) or false (F):

1 Both molecules are esters of glycerol. T/F
2 Both the molecules are made by condensation reactions. T/F
3 The hydrocarbon chains of molecule X are always from saturated fatty acids. T/F
4 The hydrocarbon chains of molecule Y may be from saturated or unsaturated fatty
acids. T/F
5 The hydrocarbon chains of molecule Y are always the same length.
T/F

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