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7Â Aula Biology SPU15 (Biological Molecules Lipids)

The document discusses lipids, which are organic molecules insoluble in water, including fats and oils that serve as building blocks for larger molecules. It explains the structure and types of fatty acids, the formation of triglycerides and phospholipids, and their roles in energy storage and cellular membrane formation. Key concepts include the distinction between saturated and unsaturated fats, the process of ester bond formation, and the hydrophobic nature of triglycerides.

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0 views19 pages

7Â Aula Biology SPU15 (Biological Molecules Lipids)

The document discusses lipids, which are organic molecules insoluble in water, including fats and oils that serve as building blocks for larger molecules. It explains the structure and types of fatty acids, the formation of triglycerides and phospholipids, and their roles in energy storage and cellular membrane formation. Key concepts include the distinction between saturated and unsaturated fats, the process of ester bond formation, and the hydrophobic nature of triglycerides.

Uploaded by

marronconela
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Biology

Biological molecules
Lipids

Diogo Pestana
[email protected]
26 Mar 2020
The building blocks of life
These simple but key biological molecules, which are relatively limited in
variety, then act as the building blocks for larger molecules.
Lipids
It is difficult to define precisely what we mean by a ‘lipid’ because
lipids are a very varied group of chemicals.

They are all organic molecules which are


insoluble in water
Lipids
It is difficult to define precisely what we mean by a ‘lipid’ because
lipids are a very varied group of chemicals.

They are all organic molecules which are


insoluble in water

The most familiar lipids are fats and oils. Fats are
solid at room temperature and oils are liquid at
room temperature – chemically they are very
similar.
Lipids
It is difficult to define precisely what we mean by a ‘lipid’ because
lipids are a very varied group of chemicals.

They are all organic molecules which are


insoluble in water

The most familiar lipids are fats and oils. Fats are
solid at room temperature and oils are liquid at
room temperature – chemically they are very
similar.

We could say that true lipids are


esters formed by fatty acids
combining with an alcohol
Fatty acids
Fatty acids are a series of acids, some of which are found in fats
(lipids). They contain the acidic group –COOH, known as a carboxyl
group.

As the name suggests, the hydrocarbon


tails consist of a chain of carbon atoms
combined with hydrogen. The chain is
often 15 or 17 carbon atoms long.
Fatty acids
The tails of some fatty acids have double bonds between
neighbouring carbon atoms, like this: –C=C–. Such fatty acids are
described as unsaturated because they do not contain the
maximum possible amount of hydrogen.

They form
unsaturated lipids
Fatty acids
The tails of some fatty acids have double bonds between
neighbouring carbon atoms, like this: –C=C–. Such fatty acids are
described as unsaturated because they do not contain the
maximum possible amount of hydrogen.

They form
unsaturated lipids

Double bonds make fatty acids and


lipids melt more easily – for example,
most oils are unsaturated.
If there is more than one double bond,
the fatty acid or lipid is described as
polyunsaturated; if there is only
one it is monounsaturated.
Fatty acids
Animal lipids are often saturated (no double bonds) and occur as
fats, whereas plant lipids are often unsaturated and occur as oils,
such as olive oil and sunflower oil.
Alcohols and esters
Alcohols are a series of organic molecules which contain a hydroxyl
group, –OH, attached to a carbon atom.
Alcohols and esters
Alcohols are a series of organic molecules which contain a hydroxyl
group, –OH, attached to a carbon atom.
Glycerol is an alcohol with three hydroxyl groups.
Alcohols and esters
Alcohols are a series of organic molecules which contain a hydroxyl
group, –OH, attached to a carbon atom.
Glycerol is an alcohol with three hydroxyl groups.

The reaction between an acid and an alcohol produces a chemical


known as an ester. The chemical link between the acid and the
alcohol is known as an ester bond or an ester linkage.
Alcohols and esters
The –COOH group on the acid reacts with the –OH group on the
alcohol to form the ester bond , –COO− .

This is a
condensation
reaction because
water is formed as
a product.

Reverse reaction
of adding water, is
a reaction known
as hydrolysis.
Triglycerides
The most common lipids are triglycerides. These are fats and oils.

A glyceride is an ester formed by a fatty acid combining with the


alcohol glycerol.
As we have seen, glycerol has three hydroxyl groups. Each one is
able to undergo a condensation reaction with a fatty acid. The final
molecule contains three fatty acids tails and three ester bonds (‘tri’
means three). The tails can vary in length, depending on the fatty
acids used.
Triglycerides
The most common lipids are triglycerides. These are fats and oils.

Triglycerides are insoluble in water but are soluble in certain organic


solvents, including ether, chloroform and ethanol. This is because of
the non-polar nature of the hydrocarbon tails: they have no uneven
distribution of electrical charge.
Consequently, they will not mix freely with water molecules and are
described as hydrophobic (water-hating).
Triglycerides
The most common lipids are triglycerides. These are fats and oils.

Roles of triglycerides
Lipids make excellent energy reserves because they are even richer
in carbon–hydrogen bonds than carbohydrates. A given mass of lipid
will therefore yield more energy on oxidation than the same mass of
carbohydrate (it has a higher calorific value), an important advantage
for a storage product.
Triglycerides
The most common lipids are triglycerides. These are fats and oils.

Roles of triglycerides
Other roles include insulator against loss of heat and a metabolic
source of water (when oxidised in respiration they are converted to
carbon dioxide and water – of importance in very dry habitats)
Phospholipids
Phospholipids are a special type of lipid. Each molecule has the
unusual property of having one end which is soluble in water.
This is because one of the three fatty acid molecules is replaced by
a phosphate group, which is polar and can therefore dissolve in
water.
The phosphate group is hydrophilic (water-loving) and makes the
head of a phospholipid molecule hydrophilic, although the two
remaining tails are still hydrophobic.
Phospholipids

This allows the molecules to form a


membrane around a cell, where the
hydrophilc heads lie in the watery
solutions on the outside of the
membrane, and the hydrophobic tails
form a layer that is impermeable to
hydrophilic substances.

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