Amphipathic Nature of Phospholipids

Hard Organic Chemistry Biological Molecules

Consider the following enzymatic reaction which is crucial for cellular metabolism: Enzyme A catalyzes the hydrolysis of a specific phosphoester bond in a phospholipid, producing a free fatty acid and a phospho-alcohol. This reaction contributes significantly to lipid metabolism and cell membrane dynamics.

Given that phospholipids are composed of fatty acid chains linked to a glycerol-phosphate backbone, which specific structural feature of phospholipids allows for their amphipathic nature, thus facilitating the formation of lipid bilayers in aqueous environments?

The presence of long saturated fatty acid chains.

The dual nature of having a hydrophilic phosphate head and hydrophobic fatty acid tails.

An ester linkage between the fatty acids and the glycerol backbone.

The existence of double bonds in the fatty acid tails.

Hint

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