Amphiphile 2026-10-13
An amphiphile is a molecule containing distinct hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. Amphiphilic and amphipathic describe this combination. Membrane-forming phospholipids are examples; their two regions give different parts of one molecule different affinities for water. The word describes a structure, not a guarantee of a particular aggregate shape. See IUPAC Gold Book: amphiphilic.
Lipid 2026-10-13
Lipids are a chemically diverse family of chemical substances, conventionally associated with biological origin and solubility in nonpolar solvents. They include triglycerides, phospholipids, and cholesterol. The name does not specify one molecular formula, one repeating monomer, or one kind of polymer. Some lipids have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions rather than being uniformly nonpolar. See IUPAC Gold Book: lipids.
Structure explains the different jobs. A triglyceride has three fatty acid-derived acyl groups attached to glycerol and serves as an energy store. A typical glycerophospholipid instead combines two such chains with a phosphate-containing head, making it an amphiphile suited to a lipid bilayer. Cholesterol has a different structure and also contributes to cell membrane properties. Thus a lipid is a chemical building material, while a lipid bilayer is an organization of many molecules. See Clark, Douglas and Choi, Biology 2e, 3.3: lipid structures and functions.