Determine the phospholipids of the membrane

The phospholipids of the membrane are arranged in a bilayer with their polar head groups on the exterior and the nonpolar hydrophobic tails tucked inside. The different proteins of the membrane are dispersed within this phospholipid bilayer and are free to move within the plane of the membrane. Some of the proteins could also be present superficially embedded in the bilayer. The proteins of the plasma membrane are responsible for the diverse functions associated with the cell membrane, such as, selective transport, cell recognition, cell-cell communication, cell responses and motility.

Fig (a). Shows a schematic representation of the fluid mosaic model and the structure of a typical phospholipid is shown in Fig (b).