Compare and contrast the structure and properties of phospholipids with those of triglycerides.

Both types of molecule contain glycerol, contain ester bonds and contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (but phospholipids also contain phosphorus). The fatty acids contained in both types of molecule may be saturated or unsaturated. Both are insoluble in water because of these fatty acid chains.In contrast, phospholipids have two fatty acid chains and a phosphate group versus triglycerides' three fatty acid chains. Phospholipids have a hydrophilic region as well as a hydrophobic region (while triglycerides are entirely hydrophobic), and because of this, phospholipids form micelles or bilayers when in solution, which is something that triglycerides do not do.