Intern:Lipids in PANGAEA

=Definition= Lipids constitute one of the four major classes of compounds found in living tissues (the others being carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids) and they include: (1) fatty acids; (2) neutral fats (i.e. triacylglycerols), other fatty acid esters, and soaps; (3) long-chain (or fatty) alcohols and waxes; (4) sphingoids and other long-chain bases; (5) glycolipids, phospholipids, and sphingolipids; and (6) carotenes, polyprenols, sterols (and related compounds), terpenes, and other isoprenoids. (...)" (Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2000), p.379)

=Use of abbreviations and retained names= Many lipids are big and complex molecules. To faciliate the handling of names, most scientists use retained names and encrypt structural information in abbreviations. Moreover lipids are divided into several building blocks (especially for glycerolipids/triglycerides) and lipid families.

Systematic IUPAC names can become very complex and unwieldy. Common lipid building blocks

=Lipid systematics= Lipids can be subdivided into several classes. The Lipid Maps database has developed the first internationally accepted Lipid Classification System with 8 categories (containing classes and subclasses):
 * Fatty Acyls [FA]
 * Glycerolipids [GL]
 * Glycerophospholipids [GP]
 * Sphingolipids [SP]
 * Sterol lipids [ST]
 * Prenol lipids [PR]
 * Saccharolipids [SL]
 * Polyketides [PK]

Publications on the Lipid Maps Classification System: Initial, Update Basic information on the lipid classes can be found in the lipid maps tutorial. Glycerophospholipids are basically also glycerolipids (glycerol backbone), however the group has been subdivided, putting emphasis on phosphate as a part of the head group.

=Glycerolipids= Glycerolipids are also called triglycerides. The common feature of all glycerolipids is the glycerol backbone.

Families of glycerolipids
=Information resources and databases=

Educational material
Lipid maps tutorials

Lipid Web

Lipid Library webpage

Databases
Lipid Maps Structure Database

Lipid Bank (Wiki)

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Lipidat