Dear bettjay-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.
Lipids, or fatty molecules shaped in what could be compared to that of
spermatozoa. Because a group of lipids’ electrically charged “heads”
are facing in one direction while their water resistant (hydrophobic)
“tails” point in another they tend to group together in formations
that resemble a kind of webbing or layer. The point of the membrane's
core, where lipid tails are in closest proximity to other lipid’s
tails, is called the bilayer.
I offer you these official definitions. Collectively, lipid bilayers
are defined as:
WIKIPEDIA
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid+bilayer
“A membrane or zone of membrane, which is like a biological membrane
in structure and composition but lacking proteins. In other words,
membrane composed only of lipid. Within a critical range of
concentrations, lipids alone in a test tube of water will
self-organize to form a "bilayer." It is composed of two opposing
layers of lipid molecules arranged so that their tails face one
another to form the oily bilayer core, while their electrically
charged or polar heads face the aqueous solutions on either side of
the membrane.”
Definition: “Lipids” and “bilayers”
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid
LIPIDS: “Lipids are fatty acid esters, a class of water-insoluble
organic molecules, that are used as basic building blocks of
biological membranes, as well as for energy storage (e.g.,
triglycerides).”
BILAYER: “In an aqueous environment, the heads of lipids are turned
towards the environment, and the tails are turned towards a
hydrophobic region of another molecule. With lots of lipids present,
the tails "prefer" to turn toward each other, forming a hydrophobic
region. This can be a bilayer or a micelle. Micelles are spheres and
can only reach a certain size, whereas bilayers have no limit to their
extension. They can also form tubules.”
With regard to medicine, a lipid bilayer, or “phospholipid bilayer” is
defined this way:
CANCERWEB – ONLINE MEDICAL DICTIONARY
http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?lipid+bilayer
“A lamellar organisation of phospholipids that are packed as a bilayer
with hydrophobic acyl tails inwardly directed and polar head groups on
the outside surfaces. It is this bilayer that forms the basis of
membranes in cells…”
As for the definition of lipid bilayer in Science and Biotechnology,
it is explained this way:
BIOTECH
http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/search/dict-search.phtml?title=lipid+bilayer
“A double-layer of amphipathic lipid molecules arranged with their
nonpolar hydrocarbon tails facing inward. These bilayers can
spontaneously form under certain conditions; the plasma membranes of
animal cells are formed mainly from phospholipid (phosphate-containing
lipids) bilayers.”
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Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
INFORMATION SOURCES
WIKIPEDIA
http://www.wikipedia.org/
CANCERWEB – ONLINE MEDICAL DICTIONARY
http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/
BIOTECH
http://biotech.icmb.utexas.edu/
SEARCHENGINEZ DICTIONARY
http://searchenginez.com/dictionary.html
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
“LIPIPD BILAYER”
“LIPID BILAYERS” |
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