Membrane lipid bilayers polyunsaturated phospholipid bilayer

The most abundant and therefore the most common precursor of the eicosanoids is arachidonic acid (eicosatetraenoic acid, w6,20 4,A5,8,ll,14), a polyunsaturated fatty acid with 20 carbons and 4 double bonds (see Fig. 35.1). It is esterified to phospholipids located in the lipid bilayer that constitutes the plasma membrane of the cell. Because arachidonic acid cannot be synthesized de novo in the body, the diet must contain arachidonic acid or other fatty acids from which arachidonic acid can be produced. The major dietary precursor for arachidonic acid synthesis is the essential fatty acid linoleate, which is present in plant oils (see Chapter 33). 

Biomimetic bicelles were also the subject of paper by Minto et Solid-state H NMR was used to qualitatively study the effects of both choline derivative and cholesterol on magnetically aligned phospholipid bilayers (bicelles) as a function of temperature. The results demonstrated that polyunsaturated choline derivative and cholesterol were successfully incorporated into phospholipid bilayers, leading to a bicelle that could be useful for investigations of eukaryotic membrane protein-lipid interactions. 

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