Lipids are highly soluble in non-polar solvent but not in polar solvent like water. What is the explanation for this phenomenon from the point of view of their chemistry?
Lipids are nonpolar , the hydrocarbon chains makes it non-polar this is why they soluble in nonpolar solvants
Dear Nicholas Alifa ,
It depends on what you mean since fats, sterols, and phospholipids are all called lipids (see for more examples and info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipid ). Because of this lipids can be roughly divided in two groups: completely hydrophobic or amphiphilic.
Obviously the first group will only be (completely) soluble in a non-polar (hydrophobic) solvent. While the amphiphilic ones are both hydrophobic and hydrophilic and will be soluble in a non-polar solvent and the most common example of amphiphilic lipids, the phospholipids, can form structures such as vesicles and membranes in aqueous environment. To what degree they are soluble in a hydrophobic solvent depends on how much the ‘balance’ between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic nature of the lipids ‘bents’ towards hydrophobic.
Best regards.
PS. Take for example DOPG which is soluble in chloroform https://www.anatrace.com/Products/Lipids/LIPIDS/P216-DOPG and DMPG which is soluble in methanol https://www.anatrace.com/Products/Lipids/LIPIDS/D614 In other words DOPG has longer hydrophobic ‘tails’ (C18) than myristic acid (C14) and makes the amphiphilic DOPG more hydrophobic (and hydrophobic enough to be completely soluble in a hydrophobic solvent like chloroform.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Phytochemistry
- Extracts