Question

Discuss how the lipid bilayer, channels, and transporters influence the ability of cells

to control the amounts of solutes they contain???​

Answer 1

Explanation:

The lipid bilayer has been firmly established as the universal basis for cell-membrane structure.

It is easily seen by electron microscopy, although specialized techniques, such as x-ray diffraction and freeze-fracture electron microscopy, are needed to reveal the details of its organization. The bilayer structure is attributable to the special properties of the lipid molecules, which cause them to assemble spontaneously into bilayers even under simple artificial conditions.

Membrane Lipids Are Amphipathic Molecules, Most of which Spontaneously Form Bilayers.

Lipid—that is, fatty—molecules constitute about 50% of the mass of most animal cell membranes, nearly all of the remainder being protein.

There are approximately 5 × 106 lipid molecules in a 1 μm × 1 μm area of lipid bilayer, or about 109 lipid molecules in the plasma membrane of a small animal cell. All of the lipid molecules in cell membranes are amphipathic (or amphiphilic)—that is, they have a hydrophilic (“water-loving”) or polar end and a hydrophobic (“water-fearing”) or nonpolar end.

The most abundant membrane lipids are the phospholipids.

These have a polar head group and two hydrophobic hydrocarbon tails. The tails are usually fatty acids, and they can differ in length (they normally contain between 14 and 24 carbon atoms).

One tail usually has one or more cis-double bonds (i.e., it is unsaturated), while the other tail does not (i.e., it is saturated).

each double bond creates a small kink in the tail.

Differences in the length and saturation of the fatty acid tails are important because they influence the ability of phospholipid molecules to pack against one another, thereby affecting the fluidity of the membrane.