Basic constituents of cell membrane

Question

Write down the basic constituents of cell membrane.

Answer 1

The cell membrane is formed of the lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. The membrane lipids are phospholipids, a special kinds of lipid to which one fringe a phosphate group is bound thus allocating electrical charge to this region of molecule. Since phospholipids enfold one electrically charged extremity and the long neutral organic chain they can organize themselves into two layers of allocated molecules: the hydrophilic portion (polar) of each and every layer faces outwards in contact with the water (or polar molecule too) of extracellular and the intra-cellular space and hydrophobic chains (or non polar) face inwards inaccessible from the water. Because this kind of membrane is made of two phospholipids layers it is as well named as bilipid membrane.

Membrane proteins are entrenched and dispersed in compact bilipid structure. Carbohydrates appear in outer surface of membrane allocated to some of those proteins under the form of glycoproteins or bound to the phospholipids forming glycolipids. The membrane carbohydrates structure the glycocalix of membrane.

This description (with further explanations) is recognized as the fluid mosaic model regarding the structure of cell membrane.