MCB 2210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Photobleaching, Sphingosine, Amine
8 Sep 2016
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Sphingosine amino group links to sugars instead of phosphate in head. Have two saturated fatty acid chains: sterols. Cholesterol can increase or decrease membrane fluidity depending on conditions. Saturated fatty acid chains give rise to thicker and less fluid bilayers. Lipids in water can form two types of structures: micelles. Small sphere with tails pointed inward: liposome-bilayer. Two layers of lipids with tails pointed toward each other: both are ways to accomplish getting hydrophobic tails of phospholipids away from water, which structure is formed is dependent on: Lipid bilayer properties: bilayers close upon themselves to make continuous surface interacting with water, no edges are left exposed, water interacting with hydrophobic tails are unfavorable, membranes try to reseal if broken or punctured. A cell will die if seal does not reform fast enough. Lipid composition affects bilayer thickness and membrane curvature. Using microscopy to determine lateral mobility of lipids: fluorescence recovery after photo-bleaching (frap)
