Biological Chemistry

Organic Chemistry the study of organic compounds contain carbon bound to other elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. the additional elements form functional groups give the organic molecule specific chemical properties.

Macromolecule a large molecule that has many carbon atoms and functional groups. Four major groups: Carbohydrates Lipids Proteins Nucleic acids

Almost all chemicals of life are carbon-based. Carbon has 4 valence electrons, so it can form 4 bonds Very versatile!

Carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen used as a source of energy. Produced by plants through photosynthesis

Monosaccharide the simplest type of sugar molecule. (Ex. Glucose, fructose, galactose)

Disaccharide (double sugar) formed by bonding two molecules of simple sugar.

Polysaccharide composed of long chains of monosaccharides. Starch – energy stored by plants Cellulose – forms cell walls of plants Chitin – exoskeleton of crustaceans and insects

Lipids Lipids- molecules made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. high proportion of hydrogen atoms. Store more chemical energy than carbohydrates. Soluble in oils Insoluble in water Include oils, fats, waxes, phospholipids, and steroids.

Triglycerides (lipid molecules) Contain four parts: glycerol and three fatty acids.

Saturated triglycerides (saturated fats) Fatty acids with only single bonds.

Unsaturated triglycerides (unsaturated fats) Fatty acids with double bonds between carbon atoms.

Polyunsaturated triglycerides Containing fatty acids with more than one double bond.

Proteins unbranched polymers (chains) of amino acids.

Amino acids small molecules have a central carbon an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a side chain.

Peptide bond a bond between amino acids

Polypeptide a short chain of amino acids.

Protein synthesis - the production of proteins. Enzyme - a protein that speeds up chemical reactions. Catalyst - a chemical that speeds up chemical reactions. Denaturation - a change in the three-dimensional shape of a protein.

Nucleic Acids Store information about the structures of proteins. Polymers containing subunits called nucleotides.

Nucleotide Each nucleotide is made up of three components: 1. a five-carbon sugar (ribose in RNA; deoxyribose in DNA) 2. a phosphate group 3. an organic, nitrogen-containing component called a nitrogenous base

Nucleotide

DNA There are four types of bases in DNA: adenine (A) guanine(G) thymine (T) cytosine (C) In DNA, the bases always pair up: A–T and C–G. RNA is usually composed of a single chain of nucleotides