Tantanin halitta wani sirara ne, mai sassauƙa na ƙwayoyin lipid wanda ke rufe tantanin halitta kuma ya raba muhallinta na ciki da na waje. Yana aiki azaman shingen zaɓi, yana sarrafa motsin abubuwa a ciki da waje ta tantanin halitta. Salon tantanin halitta kuma yana shiga cikin siginar tantanin halitta da sadarwa tare da wasu sel. Ya ƙunshi nau'in bilayer na lipid, wanda ya ƙunshi nau'i biyu na kwayoyin phospholipid, da kuma sunadaran sunadarai da carbohydrates daban-daban waɗanda ke cikin ciki ko manne da membrane.