Chemical structure and physical properties of phosphatidylserine (PS)

Phosphatidylserine is composed of a hydrophilic glycerol skeleton (head) and two longer hydrocarbon chain lipophilic groups (tail). The head is composed of a serine residue combined with a phosphate residue and connected to the hydroxyl group of glycerol at the C-3 position. The other two hydroxyl groups of glycerol are esterified with fatty acids to form the tail. The product is a white or light yellow loose powder that can be emulsified in water, insoluble in ethanol and methanol, soluble in chloroform, ether, and petroleum ether, and synthetic products are only soluble in chloroform.