Unit #1: Biochemistry Chapters 1-6

Properties of Life Order Reproduction Growth and development Energy utilization Response to environment Homeostasis Evolutionary adaptation

Chemistry Matter: elements and compounds Life requires 25 elements Structure of atom Isotopes (radioactive and medicine) A molecules biological function is related to shape Chemical reactions make and break bonds

Water Water’s polarity results in hydrogen bonding, which results in ALL of water’s properties: Surface tension Adhesion/cohesion High heat capacity Ice floating Hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic Acids/bases and buffers!

Carbon Chemistry A cell is 70-95% water, most of rest is carbon based compounds (organic) Carbon’s tetravalence (4 dots means 4 friends!) CHONPS (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur)

Functional Groups Hydroxyl (-OH) – alcohols, sugars Carbonyl (C=O) – aldehydes and ketones Carboxyl (-COOH) – carboxylic acid and one side of amino acid! Amino (-NH2) – amines and one side of amino acid! Sulfhydryl (-SH) – protein disulfide bridges Phosphate (-PO4) – ATP and DNA

Polymers Polymer = long molecule of repetitive subunits, ie monomers) Condensation/dehydration = builds chains Hydrolysis = (“water-cutting”) breaks chains

Carbohydrates Mono, di, polysaccharides Glucose, sucrose, starch/glycogen/cellulose Immediate source of energy for organisms Photosynthesis vs. cellular respiration

Lipids All lipids are hydrophobic Fats, phospholipids, steroids Fat = glycerol and fatty acid chain Phospholipid = phosphate + fatty acids Steroids = four fused carbon rings with small chain attached

Proteins A polymer made of amino acids Each amino acid has 4 items attached: A carboxyl group Amino group A hydrogen A variable R group 20 different R groups make 20 different amino acids

Proteins Amino acids joined together by dehydration Primary: linear chain of amino acids Secondary: alpha helix and beta sheets Tertiary: hydrophobic interactions, disulfide bridges Quaternary: combining small chains/individual subunits

Nucleic acids Polymers of nucleotides Nucleotide = phosphate + sugar + base Purines vs. pyrimidines (CUT) Ribose vs. deoxyribose Bases: adenine, thymine, uracil, cytosine, guanine Nucleic acids store information

Metabolism Sum total of all chemical processes Anabolism vs. catabolism Kinetic vs. potential energy Motion vs. stored Exergonic vs. endergonic Free energy and spontaneity

ATP Adenosine triphosphate (adenine + ribose + 3 phosphates) Bonds between phosphates are NRG rich! ATP transfers phosphates (NRG) to other molecules in cell which makes them able to be used in their chemical pathways This is called coupling

Enzymes Biological catalysts that lower activation energy, speeding up reaction rates Substrate specific (structure relates to…) Active site = where substrate fits Allosteric site = where activators/inhibitors bind to change conformation (shape) Temperature/pH = denature enzymes

Enzymes Allosteric regulation – activity is controlled by what binds to allosteric site (activator or inhibitor) Feedback mechanisms = a product in a pathway can allosterically inhibit an enzyme earlier in the pathway… Cooperativity – hemoglobin and oxygen