Glycolipids are the carbohydrate-attached lipids which provide energy and also serve as markers for cellular recognition. They might become a new type of promising non-viral gene delivery systems because of their low cytotoxicity, structural diversity, controllable aqua- and lipo-solubility, appropriate density and distribution of positive charges, high transfer efficiency and potential targeting function. Creative Biolabs is a leading service provider that focuses on all kinds of lipid-based drug delivery technology. Our strong expertise in delivery system design allows us to help clients tackle challenges and accelerate the design and development of drug delivery.
What is Glycolipids
Glycolipids occur in all types of organisms, i.e., bacteria, plants, animals, and humans. They are essential constituents of cellular membranes comprised of a hydrophobic lipid tail and one or more hydrophilic sugar groups linked by a glycosidic bond. The basic structure of a glycolipid consists of a mono- or oligosaccharide group attached to a sphingolipid or a glycerol group with one or two fatty acids. These make up the classes of glycosphingolipids and glycoglycerolipids, respectively. Glycolipids interact and bind to the lipid-bilayer through the hydrophobic nature of the lipid tail which anchors it to the surface of the plasma membrane. The carbohydrate residues of membrane glycolipids and glycoproteins are normally located on the exterior surface of cell membranes. This occurs because carbohydrates are hydrophilic, thus preferring the aqueous outside surface of plasma membranes over the more lipid-rich, hydrocarbon core. Glycolipids are found widely on the outer leaflet of cellular membranes where they play not only a structural role to maintain membrane stability but also facilitate cell-cell communication acting as receptors, anchors for proteins and regulators of signal transduction, but not exclusively, to the plasma membrane.
Leanr more: function of glycolipids in cell membrane
