I hope this helps you....
Cell membranes act as barriers to most, but not all, molecules. Development of a cell membrane that could allow some materials to pass while constraining the movement of other molecules was a major step in the evolution of the cell. Cell membranes are differentially (or semi-) permeable barriers separating the inner cellular environment from the outer cellular (or external) environment.
The cell membrane functions as a semi-permeable barrier, allowing a very few molecules across it while fencing the majority of organically produced chemicals inside the cell. Electron microscopic examinations of cell membranes have led to the development of the lipid bilayer model (also referred to as the fluid-mosaic model). The most common molecule in the model is the phospholipid, which has a polar (hydrophilic) head and two nonpolar (hydrophobic) tails. These phospholipids are aligned tail to tail so the nonpolar areas form a hydrophobic region between the hydrophilic heads on the inner and outer surfaces of the membrane. This layering is termed a bilayer since an electron microscopic technique known as freeze-fracturing is able to split the bilayer.
