KIVO Med
Simple lipids: structure and properties
Glycerides, cerides and sterides: structures, nomenclature, storage, reactions and biological roles.
- 25 explained questions
- 21 flashcards
- 136 estimated course minutes
Updated
What you will learn
- Distinguish mono-, di- and triacylglycerols and apply sn nomenclature.
- Relate glyceride properties and reactions to their storage role.
- Describe ceride structure and protective roles.
- Relate cholesterol and sterides to membranes, hormones, vitamin D, bile acids and pathological deposits.
Course outline
Esters built around three alcohols
Simple lipids share an ester bond, but the nature of their alcohol directs them towards storage, protection or cholesterol transport.
10 min
Glycerides: building and naming the molecule
The number, identity and position of fatty acids attached to glycerol define each glyceride.
22 min
Triglycerides: diet and storage
Highly hydrophobic and energy-rich, triglycerides concentrate fatty acids in droplets containing almost no water.
18 min
Glycerides: properties, hydrolysis and saponification
The ester structure explains glyceride hydrophobicity, digestion by lipases and conversion into soaps.
30 min
Cerides: waxes with two long chains
Joining a fatty acid to a long aliphatic alcohol produces a solid, hydrophobic and protective lipid.
18 min
Sterides: esterifying and transporting cholesterol
Cholesterol’s –OH group enables either membrane insertion or esterification into an entirely non-polar form.
24 min
Connecting alcohol, property and function
The nature of the alcohol directs a simple lipid towards storage, protection or cholesterol management.
14 min
Study and practise with KIVO Med
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Educational resources for medical studies; they do not replace your faculty’s teaching or medical advice.
In the same subject
Lipids: general principles and classification
Define lipids through their properties, functions, and transport, then organise their principal structural families.
Fatty acids: structure and properties
Definition, nomenclature, families, atypical fatty acids, eicosanoids and physicochemical properties.
Complex lipids: structure and properties
Glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, amphiphilicity, hydrolysis and membrane, signalling and recognition roles.
Lipoproteins: structure and metabolism
Architecture, apolipoproteins, receptors, lipid transport and the links between LDL, HDL and atherosclerosis.