Year 12
Functions
To control the movement of
substances into and out of cells
Structure.
A phospholipid bilayer about 7-10nm thick. Under the light microscope it appears as a thin
line and until the advent of the electron microscope the structure could not be studied.
Phospholipids
A special type of lipid 2 fatty acid chains
making a hydrophobic tail. Chains have no charge and are non-polar / insoluble. Phosphate group is hydrophilic = has a charge so is soluble.
History of Packing :1930-40 Danielli and Davson studied triglyceride lipid bi-layers over water surfaces.
Found they arranged themselves with polar heads facing outwards = forming droplets However, if they add proteins they formed sheets over water as this decreased the surface tension. NB. The polar pore.
1950 Robertson Model Did not see the spaces for pores on electron micrographs. He said that the rail road track was due to the binding of Osmium tetroxide to proteins and polar groups on the surfaces of the membrane.
1966 Lenard and Singer Noted over 30% of proteins were twisted
into an alpha helix (secondary structure) More likely the proteins were spherical than flat. Major turning point :- Freeze Fracturing technique Clearly showed bumps in membrane as proteins.
Proteins are embedded in the bilayer. Transmembrane proteins pass through the bilayer Others may be inserted at the cytoplasmic or
exterior face = Extrinsic / Intrinsic
Cholesterol
Cholestrol helps to keep the lipid layer free to move.
Membrane proteins
Create pores through which water and water
soluble chemicals can pass