Lipid Bilayer. Lipid Bilayer Phospholipids make up the basic structure of a cell membrane. Phospholipids are more polar than the lipids discussed thus far (triglycerides), because they contain a phosphate group bound to an amino alcohol unit in place of one of the ester linkages of a triglyceride. The lipid bilayer is important for maintaining the shape of a cell and for selective permeability. Therefore, it is vital for the survival and function of the cell. This article explains what the lipid bilayer is and how its structure contributes to cell viability. The lipid bilayer (phospholipid bilayer/cell membrane) is a structural component of the cell that isolates the cell components (organelles, cytoplasm) from the extracellular environment. Functions of the lipid bilayer. 1  Maintain an internal environment: the external cellular environment is often different to the cellular environment (ion, protein concentrations etc). 2  The cell can control its environment by controling gene expression of transmembrane proteins (see 'crossing the membrane'). Structure of the lipid bilayer. The lipid bilayer is made up of many phospholipids that align together. Each phospholipid is made up of a hydrophilic head and a hydrophobic tail (figure 1). The most common phospholipid is phosphatidylcholine which contains a choline molecule bound to phosphate and glycero An example of a lipid bilayer is the cell membrane. It is formed by two layers of phospholipids, which have a polar head and non polar tails, providing an anfoteric environmen … t in which phospholipids arrange to form a membrane. Lipid bilayer is a universal component of all cell membranes. The structure is called a lipid bilayer because it composed of two layers of fatty acids organized in two sheets. The lipid bilayer is typically about five nanometers to ten nanometers thick and surrounds all cells providing the cell membrane structure. Polar/Nonpolar Regions. In a biological membrane, the phospholipids are organized into a bilayer, which serves as the framework in which the other components of the membrane are embedded. The figure to the left shows the arrangement of the phospholipids in a cross section of a membrane.
http://www.foothill.edu/attach/psme/Norick.30B.24Continue.ppt http://study.com/academy/lesson/lipid-bilayer-definition-structure-function.html http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/31/170/969 http://www.fastbleep.com/biology-notes/31/170/969 http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_lipid_bilayer https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Structural_Biochemistry/Lipids/Lipid_Bilayer http://courses.washington.edu/conj/membrane/bilayer.htm
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