Download Phospholipid Bilayers

Phospholipid Bilayers
Douglas Wilkin, Ph.D.
Jean Brainard, Ph.D.
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Printed: March 24, 2014
AUTHORS
Douglas Wilkin, Ph.D.
Jean Brainard, Ph.D.
www.ck12.org
C HAPTER
Chapter 1. Phospholipid Bilayers
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Phospholipid Bilayers
• Describe the structure and function of the plasma membrane.
All cells have a plasma membrane. This membrane surrounds the cell. So what is its role?
Can molecules enter and leave the cell? Yes. Can anything or everything enter or leave? No. So, what determines
what can go in or out? Is it the nucleus? The DNA? Or the plasma membrane?
The Plasma Membrane
The plasma membrane (also known as the cell membrane) forms a barrier between the cytoplasm inside the cell
and the environment outside the cell. It protects and supports the cell and also controls everything that enters and
leaves the cell. It allows only certain substances to pass through, while keeping others in or out. The ability to
allow only certain molecules in or out of the cell is referred to as selective permeability or semipermeability. To
understand how the plasma membrane controls what crosses into or out of the cell, you need to know its composition.
The plasma membrane is discussed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aSfoB8Cmic (6:16).
A Phospholipid Bilayer
The plasma membrane is composed mainly of phospholipids, which consist of fatty acids and alcohol. The phospholipids in the plasma membrane are arranged in two layers, called a phospholipid bilayer. As shown in Figure
1.1, each phospholipid molecule has a head and two tails. The head “loves” water ( hydrophilic) and the tails “hate”
water ( hydrophobic). The water-hating tails are on the interior of the membrane, whereas the water-loving heads
point outwards, toward either the cytoplasm or the fluid that surrounds the cell.
Molecules that are hydrophobic can easily pass through the plasma membrane, if they are small enough, because
they are water-hating like the interior of the membrane. Molecules that are hydrophilic, on the other hand, cannot
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FIGURE 1.1
Phospholipid Bilayer. The phospholipid bilayer consists of two layers of phospholipids, with a hydrophobic,
or water-hating, interior and a hydrophilic, or water-loving, exterior. The hydrophilic (polar) head group and
hydrophobic tails (fatty acid chains) are depicted in the single phospholipid molecule. The polar head group
and fatty acid chains are attached by a 3-carbon glycerol unit.
pass through the plasma membrane—at least not without help—because they are water-loving like the exterior of
the membrane.
See Insights into cell membranes via dish detergent at http://ed.ted.com/lessons/insights-into-cell-membranes-via-d
ish-detergent-ethan-perlstein for additional information on the cell membrane.
Summary
• The plasma membrane forms a barrier between the cytoplasm and the environment outside the cell. The
plasma membrane has selective permeability.
• The plasma membrane is primarily composed of phospholipids arranged in a bilayer, with the hydrophobic
tails on the interior of the membrane, and the hydrophilic heads pointing outwards.
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Chapter 1. Phospholipid Bilayers
Practice
Use these resources to answer the questions that follow.
• Construction of the Cell Membrane at http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP1101
.
1. What are the two main components of the cell membrane?
2. Describe the types of proteins that live in the cell membrane.
3. Describe the orientation of the phospholipid molecule in the cell membrane.
• Cell Membranes at http://johnkyrk.com/cellmembrane.html .
1.
2.
3.
4.
Are all cells surrounded by a membrane?
Why are phospholipids considered an amphipathic molecule?
What is a glycolipid?
Describe the role of cholesterol in the cell membrane.
• http://www.hippocampus.org/Biology → Non-Majors Biology → Search: Plasma Membrane Structure
1.
2.
3.
4.
What are the roles of the plasma membrane?
What is the difference between hydrophilic and hydrophobic?
What are the functions of proteins associated with the cell membrane?
Why is the structure of the cell membrane described as "fluid mosaic"?
Review
1. Describe the role of the plasma membrane.
2. Describe the composition of the plasma membrane.
3. Explain why hydrophobic (“water-hating”) molecules can easily cross the plasma membrane, while hydrophilic
(“water-loving”) molecules cannot.
References
1. Mariana Ruiz Villarreal (LadyofHats) for the CK-12 Foundation. Examines the phospholipid bilayer, the
structure of the plasma membrane. CC BY-NC 3.0
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