College of Education - URS Morong

NAME JOHN CRIZ C. ALAO

BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION MAJOR IN
PROGRAM
SCIENCE
CC: Chem4 Biochemistry
LECTURER PROF. EARTH DP. PADILLA
Lipids and Biological Membranes
 Structure and Classification of Lipids
Study Paper  Fatty Acids as Lipid Building Blocks
Title  Physical Properties of Fatty Acids
 Functions of Lipids
 Triacylglycerols
Phospholipids

I. Introduction
Lipids are compounds that are insoluble in water but soluble in non-polar organic solvents
(chloroform or acetone). Lipids are a mixed bag of compounds that share some properties
based on structural similarities, mainly a hold of nonpolar groups. There are two types of
lipids- Type 1- open-chain compounds with polar head groups and long nonpolar tails
Type 2: fused ring compounds. The type 1 includes fatty acids, triacylglycerols,
phosphoacylglycerols, waxes, sphingolipids, and glycolipids.

II. Individual Task

A. Draw the structural formula of the following lipids.

1. Palmitic Acid
2. Stearic Acid
3. Oleic Acid
4. Linoleic Acid
5. phosphatidyl ethanolamine (cephalin)
6. phosphatidyl serine
7. phosphatidyl choline (lecithin)
8. phosphatidyl inositol
9. phosphatidyl glycerol
10. Diphosphatidyl glycerol (cardiolipin)
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Answer:
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B. Read the questions carefully. Answer the questions using Online sources and the uploaded
books in the G-Classroom.

1. What structural features do a triacylglycerol and a phosphatidyl ethanolamine have in common?

How do the structures of these two types of lipids differ?
Answer: In both types of lipids, glycerol is esterified to carboxylic acids, with three such ester
linkages formed in triacylglycerols and two in phosphatidyl ethanolamines. The structural
difference comes in the nature of the third ester linkage to glycerol.

2. Draw the structure of a phosphoacylglycerol that contains glycerol, oleic acid, stearic acid, and
choline.
Answer:

3. What are waxes and sphingolipids?

Answer: 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.
Sphingolipids do not contain glycerol, but they do contain the long-chain amino alcohol
sphingosine, from which this class of compounds takes its name Sphingolipids are found in both
plants and animals; they are particularly abundant in the nervous system.

4.What are glycolipids and steroids?

Answer: If a carbohydrate is bound to an alcohol group of a lipid by a glycosidic linkage the resulting
compound is a glycolipid. Quite frequently, ceramides are the parent compounds for glycolipids, and the
glycosidic bond is formed between the primary alcohol group of the ceramide and a sugar residue. The
resulting compound is called a cerebroside. In most cases, the sugar is glucose or galactose; for example,
a glucocerebroside is a cerebroside that contains glucose. As the name indicates, cerebrosides are found
in nerve and brain cells, primarily in cell membranes. The carbohydrate portion of these compounds can
be very complex. Gangliosides are examples of glycolipids with a complex carbohydrate moiety that
contains more than three sugars. One of them is always a sialic acid. These compounds are also referred
to as acidic glycosphingolipids because of their net negative charge at neutral pH. Glycolipids are often
found as markers on cell membranes and play a large role in tissue and organ specificity. Gangliosides
are also present in large quantities in nerve tissues.
Many compounds of widely differing functions are classified as steroids because they have the same
general structure: a fused-ring system consisting of three six-membered rings (the A, B, and C rings) and
one five-membered ring (the D ring). There are many important steroids, including sex hormones. The
steroid that is of most interest in our discussion of membranes is cholesterol. The only hydrophilic group
in the cholesterol structure is the single hydroxyl group. As a result, the molecule is highly hydrophobic.
Cholesterol is widespread in biological membranes, especially in animals, but it does not occur in
prokaryotic cell membranes. The presence of cholesterol in membranes can modify the role of
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membrane-bound proteins. Cholesterol has a number of important biological functions, including its
role as a precursor of other steroids and of vitamin D3. We will see a five-carbon structural motif (the
isoprene unit) that is common to steroids and to fat-soluble vitamins, which is an indication of their
biosynthetic relationship (Sections 8.7 and 21.8). However, cholesterol is best known for its harmful
effects on health when it is present in excess in the blood. It plays a role in the development of
atherosclerosis, a condition in which lipid deposits block the blood vessels and lead to heart disease

5. What is the structure of lipid bilayers in biological membranes? How does the composition of the
bilayer affect its properties?
Answer: Biological membranes contain, in addition to phosphoglycerides, glycolipids as part of the
lipid component. Steroids are present in eukaryotes—cholesterol in animal membranes and similar
compounds, called phytosterols, in plants. In the lipid bilayer part of the membrane (Figure 8.10), the
polar head groups are in contact with water, and the nonpolar tails lie in the interior of the membrane.
The whole bilayer arrangement is held together by noncovalent interactions, such as van der Waals and
hydrophobic interactions (Section 2.1). The surface of the bilayer is polar and contains charged groups.
The nonpolar hydrocarbon interior of the bilayer consists of the saturated and unsaturated chains of
fatty acids and the fused-ring system of cholesterol. Both the inner and outer layers of the bilayer
contain mixtures of lipids, but their compositions differ and can be used to distinguish the inner and
outer layers from each other (Figure 8.11). Bulkier molecules tend to occur in the outer layer, and
smaller molecules tend to occur in the inner layer.
The arrangement of the hydrocarbon interior of the bilayer can be ordered and rigid or disordered
and fluid. The bilayer’s fluidity depends on its composition. In saturated fatty acids, a linear arrangement
of the hydrocarbon chains leads to close packing of the molecules in the bilayer, and thus to rigidity.
Unsaturated fatty acids have a kink in the hydrocarbon chain that does not exist in saturated fatty acids
(Figure 8.12). The kinks cause disorder in the packing of the chains, which makes for a more open
structure than would be possible for straight saturated chains (Figure 8.13). In turn, the disordered
structure caused by the presence of unsaturated fatty acids with cis double bonds (and therefore kinks)
in their hydrocarbon chains causes greater fluidity in the bilayer. The lipid components of a bilayer are
always in motion, to a greater extent in more fluid bilayers and to a lesser extent in more rigid ones.

6. Which cell membrane of mammals has more saturated fatty acid- cell membrane of internal
organs or the skin?
Answer: We use the terms animal “fats” and plant “oils” because of the solid and fluid nature of
these two groups of lipids. The major difference between fats and oils is the percentage of unsaturated
fatty acids in the triglycerides and the phosphoglycerides of membranes. This difference is far more
important than the fact that the length of the fatty acid chain can affect the melting points. Butter is an
exception; it has a high proportion of short-chain fatty acids and thus can “melt in your mouth.”
Membranes must maintain a certain degree of fluidity to be functional. Consequently, unsaturated fats
are distributed in varying proportions in different parts of the body.
The membranes of internal organs of warm-blooded mammals have a higher percentage of saturated
fats than do the membranes of skin tissues, which helps keep the membrane more solid at the higher
temperature of the internal organ. An extreme example of this is found in the legs and the body of
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reindeer, where marked differences exist in the percentages of saturated fatty acids. When bacteria are
grown at different temperatures, the fatty acid composition of the membranes changes to reflect more
unsaturated fatty acids at lower temperatures and more saturated fatty acids at higher temperatures.
The same type of difference can be seen in eukaryotic cells grown in tissue culture.

7. How are proteins associated with the bilayer in membranes?

Answer: Proteins in a biological membrane can be associated with the lipid bilayer in either of two
ways—as peripheral proteins on the surface of the membrane or as integral proteins within the lipid
bilayer (Figure 8.17). Notice that the integral protein rhodopsin (shown in purple) consists mostly of
helical portions that span the membrane. The peripheral G protein is a trimer. The three different
subunits are shown in red, yellow, and blue. Peripheral proteins are usually bound to the charged head
groups of the lipid bilayer by polar interactions, electrostatic interactions, or both. They can be removed
by such mild treatment as raising the ionic strength of the medium. The relatively numerous charged
particles present in a medium of higher ionic strength undergo more electrostatic interactions with the
lipid and with the protein, “swamping out” the comparatively fewer electrostatic interactions between
the protein and the lipid. Removing integral proteins from membranes is much more difficult.
Harsh conditions, such as treatment with detergents or extensive sonication (exposure to ultrasonic
vibrations), are usually required. Such measures frequently denature the protein, which often remains
bound to lipids in spite of all efforts to obtain it in pure form. The denatured protein is of course
inactive, whether or not it remains bound to lipids. Fortunately, nuclear magnetic resonance techniques
enable researchers to study proteins of this sort in living tissue or in reconstituted membranes. The
structural integrity of the whole membrane system appears to be necessary for the activities of most
membrane proteins. Proteins can be attached to the membrane in a variety of ways. When a protein
completely spans the membrane, it is often in the form of an a-helix or b-sheet. These structures
minimize contact of the polar parts of the peptide backbone with the nonpolar lipids in the interior of
the bilayer (Figure 8.18). Proteins can also be anchored to the lipids via covalent bonds from cysteines or
free amino groups on the protein to one of several lipid anchors. Myristoyl and palmitoyl groups are
common anchors (Figure 8.18). Membrane proteins have a variety of functions. Most, but not all, of the
important functions of the membrane as a whole are those of the protein component. Transport
proteins help move substances in and out of the cell, and receptor proteins are important in the transfer
of extracellular signals, such as those carried by hormones or neurotransmitters, into the cell. In
addition, some enzymes are tightly bound to membranes; examples include many of the enzymes
responsible for aerobic oxidation reactions, which are found in specific parts of mitochondrial
membranes. Some of these enzymes are on the inner surface of the membrane, and some are on the
outer surface. There is an uneven distribution of proteins of all types on the inner and outer layers of all
cell membranes, just as there is an asymmetric distribution of lipids.
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III. Group Task

Research products sold in the Philippines which contain the following lipids. At least 3 products
each then identify the role of the lipids as ingredient of the product. Presentation

1. Palmitic Acid

2. Stearic Acid

3. Oleic Acid

4. Linoleic Acid

5. phosphatidyl ethanolamine (cephalin)

6. phosphatidyl serine

7. phosphatidyl choline (lecithin)

8. phosphatidyl inositol

9. phosphatidyl glycerol

10. Diphosphatidyl glycerol (cardiolipin)

Group Activity and Presentation Rubrics

Exceptional Admirable Acceptable Amateur

10pts 8pts 6pts 4pts
Cooperation All the members Few members are not Half of the The members
worked together; the working; the leader members only didn’t participate
leader distributes the designates task to work for the at all; the leader
task equally among those he can trust; the group; the leader works alone for
members; the leader leader and members works with two to the group; the
and the members experienced a little three members leader and the
have no conflict misunderstanding. only; the leader members have
during group activity. can’t misunderstanding
communicate to .
his members.
Presentation All of the members of Almost all of the The group The group
the group lively members of the group presented their showed no
presented their lively presented the outputs without interest at all in
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outputs; everyone outputs; some have a enthusiasm; lots presenting the

has a significant part significant part in the of problems and task.
in the presentation; presentation; the difficulties in
the group presented group presented the presenting is
the task without task with minimal experienced by
problems and problems and conflicts. the group.
conflicts.
Materials/Props The materials used The materials used are The materials No materials.
are relevant and not as relevant and not were not
significant to the as significant to the appropriately
presentation; presentation; good used to connect
overwhelming variety of creativity. the concepts of
creativity captures the presentation;
the audience’s lacks creativity.
attention.
Content The group developed The group committed a The group has The group has
a logical order of few errors in logical lots of errors in irrelevant
information. Their order of information. ordering information and
information is Some of the information. without order.
relevant to the topic. information is
irrelevant.