Biochemistry

LIPIDS

Lipids are essential components of all living organisms.

Biological Lipids are water insoluble organic compounds
They are hydrophobic (nonpolar/water fearing) or amphipathic
(containing both nonpolar and polar regions)

Functions:
Cells store energy for long-term use in the form of fats.
Lipids also provide insulation from the environment for plants and
animals
building blocks of many hormones and are an important constituent
of all cellular membranes.
LIPIDS

● Varied forms/structure and functions

 Fats and oils
 Waxes
 Triglycerides
 Phospholipids
 Steroids
 Pigments
FATS AND OIL

 fat molecule consists of two main components—glycerol and fatty

acids.
 Glycerol is an organic compound (alcohol) with three carbons, five
hydrogens, and three hydroxyl (OH) groups.
 Fatty acids have a long chain of hydrocarbons to which a carboxyl
group is attached, hence the name “fatty acid.”
 In a fat molecule, the fatty acids are attached to each of the three
carbons of the glycerol molecule with an ester bond through an
oxygen atom
FATS AND OIL
WHAT ARE FATTY ACIDS?
Fatty acids are carboxylic acids with hydrocarbon chains ranging
from 4 to 36 carbons long
Hydrocarbon tail: hydrophobic
Acts as energy storage of organisms
FATS AND OIL
SATURATED VS UNSATURATED FATS
 SATURATED: NO double bonds, max. # of bonded H atoms

Stearic acid
common in
meat

Butter
fat with butyric acid
 FATS AND OIL
SATURATED VS UNSATURATED FATS
UNSATURATED:
 one or more double bonds with cis configuration, in the C skeleton
 unSaturated with H atoms
 monounsaturated fat
 polyunsaturated fat
*The higher the degree of unsaturation, the lower the melting point.

Oleic acid
FATS AND OIL
SATURATED VS UNSATURATED FATS
UNSATURATED structure

cis double bond causes a bend or a

“kink” that prevents the fatty acids from
packing tightly, keeping them liquid at
room temperature

cis or trans
configuration
 FATS AND OIL
TRANS FATTY ACIDS

a.k.a. trans-unsaturated fatty acids

Can be produced by
 fermentation in the rumen of dairy animals, from dairy
products and meat.
 hydrogenation of fish or vegetable oils
 oils are artificially hydrogenated to make them semi-solid
and of a consistency desirable

Diets high in trans fatty acids correlate with increased blood

levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and decreased HDL (good
cholesterol).
FATS AND OIL
TRIGLYCERIDES
a.k.a. triacylglycersols
simplest lipids constructed from fatty acids
are non polar, hydrophobic molecules
provide stored energy and insulation.

Functions of Triglycerides
 Compact energy storage: 1g triglycerides
produce >2x energy than that of 1g
polysaccharide
FATS AND OIL
TRIGLYCERIDES

Triacylglycerol is formed by the

joining of three fatty acids to a
glycerol backbone in a
dehydration reaction. Three
molecules of water are released
in the process.
 PHOSPHOLIPIDS

 major constituents of the plasma

membrane, the outermost layer of
animal cells.
 Like fats, they are composed of fatty
acid chains attached to a glycerol or
sphingosine backbone. Instead of three
fatty acids attached as in triglycerides
 PHOSPHOLIPIDS IN WATER

 Spontaneously assemble into

aggregates that shield hydrophobic
portion
 micelle
WAXES

 covers the feathers of some aquatic birds and the leaf surfaces of
some plants.
 Because of the hydrophobic nature of waxes, they prevent water
from sticking on the surface
 Waxes are made up of long fatty acid chains esterified to long-chain
alcohols.
STEROIDS

• Lipids characterized by a C skeleton consisting of 4 fused

rings: 1 cyclopentane and 3 cyclohexane rings.
• hydrophobic and insoluble in water.

Cholesterol Cortisol
CHOLESTEROL: GOOD AND BAD
MANAGING CHOLESTEROL
LIPIDS AS PIGMENTS, SIGNALS, &
COFACTORS

Pigments
• are lipids with a system of conjugated double bonds
• can absorb visible light.
• Some of these act a light –capturing pigments in vision
and photosynthesis

Lipids also have active roles as:

• Metabolites and messengers.
• Hormones- potent signals
• Enzyme cofactors in electron- transfer reactions in
chloroplasts and mitochondria, or in the transfer of sugar
moieties in a variety of glycosylation reaction.
 LIPIDS AS SIGNALS
Eicosanoids are paracrine hormones, substances that act only on cells near the point of
hormone synthesis instead of being transported in the blood to act on cells in other tissues
or organs.

Prostaglandins (PG) originating from the chain of arachidonic acid. Their name derives
from the prostate gland, the tissue from which they were first isolted by Bengt Samuelsson
and Sune Bergstrom.

Thrombaxanes have a six-membered ring containing an ether. They are produced by the
platelets and act in the formation of blood clots and the reduction of blood flow to the site
of a clot.

Leukotrienes first found in leukocytes, contain three conjugated double bonds, They are
powerful biological signals
OTHER LIPIDS…
WORKING WITH LIPIDS

 Extraction: use of organic solvents and some techniques not

commonly used in the purification of water-soluble molecules.
 Separation: by differences in the polarity and solubility of the
components in nonpolar solvents.
 Hydrolyzation: by treatment with acid or alkali or with highly specific
hydrolytic enzymes
LIPIDS ANALYSIS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0pM-k0SvOQ
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD-29-mV3N0
HPLC

 Chromatography can be described as a mass

transfer process involving adsorption. HPLC relies on pumps
to pass a pressurized liquid (Pressure at (50–350 bar) and a
sample mixture through a column filled with adsorbent,
leading to the separation of the sample components. The
active component of the column, the adsorbent, is
typically a granular material made of solid particles
(e.g., silica, polymers, etc.), 2–50 μm in size. The
components of the sample mixture are separated from
each other due to their different degrees of interaction
with the adsorbent particles. The pressurized liquid is
typically a mixture of solvents (e.g., water, acetonitrile
and/or methanol) and is referred to as a "mobile phase".
Its composition and temperature play a major role in the
separation process by influencing the interactions taking
place between sample components and adsorbent.
These interactions are physical in nature, such as
hydrophobic (dispersive), dipole–dipole and ionic, most
often a combination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia8yrBL2Xwc
Biochemistry