Plasma membrane lipid bilayer

The **plasma membrane lipid bilayer** is a double-layered arrangement of phospholipid molecules that forms the fundamental structure of all cellular membranes[5][2][6][7]. The bilayer’s hydrophilic heads face outward toward aqueous compartments (extracellular and cytoplasmic), while the hydrophobic tails point inward, creating a semipermeable barrier that separates and protects the cell from its environment[3][6][1]. Embedded within and associated with the bilayer are proteins (integral and peripheral), cholesterol (in animal cells), glycolipids, and glycoproteins, all of which participate in specialized functions such as selective transport, signal transduction, cell recognition, and maintenance of cell shape[2][4][6][8]. The bilayer itself is critical for compartmentalization and maintaining ion gradients, but is not a therapeutic target in the conventional sense as with receptors, channels, or enzymes; rather, the proteins embedded in it are typical drug targets[4][5].

Other names

Plasma membraneCell membranePhospholipid bilayerLipid bilayer

Not applicable (as a direct therapeutic target)