Organic Chemistry for Biologists

Organic Molecules basic monomer is -CH2 contains lots of energy hydrophobic

Vocabulary Structure Organic Compounds polymers, polymerization monomers macromolecules lipids carbohydrate proteins nucleic acids

Lipids Fats, waxes, and oils Insoluble in polar solvents like water Dissolve readily in non-polar organic solvents Many (not all) contain fatty acids

Phospholipid Bilayer

Fatty Acids long hydrocarbon tail, which is nonpolar and hydrophobic; a carboxyl group, which makes the fatty acid an acid.

Carboxyl Group

Fatty Acids contains no double bonds in the hydrocarbon chain is said to be saturated. contains double bonds; unsaturated.

Carbohydrates sugars and starches; “carbs” Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates; eg. glucose Polysaccharides are long chains of simple sugars; example: cellulose

Simple Sugars

Sucrose (disaccharide)

Complex Carbohydrates long chains of sugars examples are: Starch, Cellulose, and Glycogen. all three are composed only of Glucose. They differ only in the bonding arrangements between the Glucose subunits. not all are composed of glucose alone, many have highly unusual sugars in their chains.

Starch a long (100's) polymer of Glucose molecules, where all the sugars are oriented in the same direction. Starch is one of the primary sources of calories for humans.

Cellulose a long (100's) polymer of Glucose molecules. However the orientation of the sugars is a little different. In Cellulose, every other sugar molecule is "upside-down". This small difference in structure makes a big difference in the way we use this molecule.

Cellulose

Glycogen another Glucose polymer. Glycogen is a stored energy source, found in the Liver and muscles of Humans. Glycogen is different from both Starch and Cellulose in that the Glucose chain is branched or "forked".

Glycogen in the Liver

Proteins are polymers of amino acids.

A Large Protein Molecule

What are proteins? Proteins are large organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chains and joined together by peptide bonds. The sequence of amino acids in a protein is defined by a gene and encoded in the genetic code.

What do proteins do? Proteins are essential parts of organisms and participate in every process within cells. Many proteins are enzymes that catalyze biochemical reactions and are vital to metabolism.

Protein Function Proteins also have structural or mechanical functions, such as in muscle and the proteins in the cytoskeleton, which maintains cell shape.

Protein Function Other proteins are important in cell signaling, immune responses, cell adhesion, and the cell cycle. Proteins are also necessary in animals' diets, since animals cannot synthesize all the amino acids they need and must obtain essential amino acids from food.

Nucleic Acids A nucleic acid is a macromolecule composed of chains of monomers called nucleotides. These molecules carry genetic information or form structures within cells.

Types of Nucleic Acids Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) “The Double Helix” James Watson and Francis Crick, 1953

Chromosome and DNA

DNA Structure

Nucleotide

Nucleotide Structure

Base Pairing