Fatty Acids

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Fatty Acids
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Fatty Acids

• Fatty acids are a building block molecule that
  serve one of two purposes
• 1. Energy Storage (triglycerides)
• 2. Membrane (diglycerides or polar lipids)
• Polar lipids can contain phosphorus
  (phospholipids) or other stuff like sphingosine
  (sphingolipids)

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Fatty Acids

• Be able to name a fatty acid
• Remember to count from the carboxylic acid as
  number one, then list the total of carbons
• A fatty acid with no double bonds is called
  saturated
• Fatty acids with double bonds are unsaturated
• Every double bond receives a ? designation, with
  the number of the first carbon that participates
  in the double bond

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Naming fatty acids
182(?9, ?12)
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Diacyl vs. Triacyl

• Diacylglcerols are membrane lipids and can act a
  surfactants.
• Infants need surfactant to breath, if they are
  born prematurely, then they dont have surfactant
  and they have respiratory distress syndrome
• Triacylglycerols are dietary fats

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Melting points

• The degree of saturation determines the melting
  point.
• The more unsaturated, the lower the melting
  point.
• Since triacylglycerols have three fatty acids,
  then the triacylglycerol with the most total
  unsaturations will have the lowest melting point
  range.

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Cholesterol

• Cholesterol is in the lipid family because it is
  a large molecule of most hydrocarbons
• It serves as the basis of many hormones and
  fat-soluble vitamins, as well as contributing to
  the viscosity of the cell membrane.
• The ring structure is the most defining
  characteristic of cholesterol