Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos

Phospholipid: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As phosphatide • phosphoglyceride

Photos

A composite diagram shows the structural formulas, space-filling models, and simplified depictions of lipid molecules including stearic acid and phosphatidylcholine, and how these assemble into a micelle and lipid bilayer, with labels identifying hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails.
Detailed diagram of a plasma membrane's lipid bilayer showing two layers of phospholipid molecules with hydrophilic heads facing outward and hydrophobic tails inward, embedded cholesterol, integral (intrinsic) proteins spanning the membrane, peripheral (extrinsic) proteins attached to the surface, and sugar side chains extending from the outer face.
structure of an inverted or reverse micelle
Simple diagram of a lipid bilayer showing two layers of phospholipid molecules with round hydrophilic heads facing outward and hydrophobic tails facing inward, illustrating a cellular membrane structure.
Cross-sectional diagram of a liposome, showing concentric bilayers formed by phospholipid molecules with pink heads and blue fatty acid tails, illustrating its structure in biochemistry.
A detailed cross-section illustration of a low-density lipoprotein (LDL) complex shows a spherical structure with a phospholipid monolayer, embedded apoprotein (apoB-100), and internal components such as cholesteryl esters, free cholesterol, and triacylglycerol molecules.
Diagram of a cell membrane showing three types of membrane transport: simple diffusion of small molecules, facilitated diffusion through transporter proteins, and primary active transport using ATP to move molecules across the membrane. Labels identify the hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails of phospholipids, as well as extracellular and intracellular surfaces.
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic