BIOL2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Hopanoids, Conformational Change, Cytosol
Document Summary
Cell membranes are composed of two layers of lipids: phospholipids, lipid structures. 2. i. ii. ii. i. ii. i. ii. i. ii. Micelle: a spherical structure in which lipids with bulky heads and a i. single hydrophobic tail are packed. Bilayer: a two-layered structure of the cell membrane with hydrophilic. heads pointing outward toward the aqueous environment and hydrophobic. "self-healing" property: tendency of water to exclude nonpolar. 1. molecules allow small tears in a membrane to be sealed by spontaneous rearrangement of the lipids. Forms as long as the concentration of free phospholipids is high enough and the ph of the solution is similar to that of a cell (ph ensures their ionized form) Liposome: an enclosed bilayer structure spontaneously formed by phospholipids in environments with neutral ph, like water. Enzyme is not required to catalyze any chemical reaction. Incorporate nucleic acids and other molecules into their interiors. Amphipathic: allows it to pack tightly with phospholipids.
