Molecules of Life

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Molecules of Life

• No Carbon, No Life
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleotides Nucleic Acids

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Carbon Compounds

• Why is Carbon so important??
• Involved in Energy transfer
• Very important structural component of cells
• Humans and fossil fuels

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What are organic compounds?

• Hydrogen and other elements covalently bonded to
  carbon
• Functional groups
• Clusters of atoms covalently bonded to carbon
  backbone
• These clusters give organic compounds different
  properties

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What are organic compounds?

• Functional Groups
• Methyl group CH3
• Hydroxyl group OH-
• Amino group NH3
• Carboxyl group COOH
• Phosphate group PO3
• Sulfhydryl group SH

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What are organic compounds?

• Carbons bonding behavior
• 4 major groups
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic Acids
• Each compound is a polymer
• Made up of many subunits, or monomers

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Condensation Reactions

• One molecule is formed from smaller subunits
• Enzymes remove H from one and OH- from another
  and form a bond between 2 molecules
• Discarded atoms bond and form water

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Hydrolysis

• Type of cleavage (splitting) reaction
• Enzymes break polymers into smaller parts

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Classes of Carbohydrates

• Major functions
• Energy, structures

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Classes of Carbohydrates

• Monosaccharides
• Simplest CHO with one subunit (glucose)
• Oligosaccharides
• Two to several subunits (sucrose)

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Classes of Carbohydrates

• Polysaccharides
• Long chains with many subunits
• Cellulose
• Structural material produced in plants

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Classes of Carbohydrates

• Starch
• Most common end-product of photosynthesis
• Glycogen
• Energy-storing compound in animals
• Chitin
• Found in exoskeleton of insects and other hard
  body parts

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Lipids

• Nonpolar hydrocarbons
• Usually insoluble in water
• Major functions
• Energy, structure, signaling molecules

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Lipids

• Fats
• Triglycerides are most abundant
• Fatty acids (long carbonchains with a carboxyl
  group at one end) attached to a glycerol molecule

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Lipids

• Fats
• Unsaturated One or more double bonds
• Saturated No double bonds
• Phospholipids

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Lipids

• Membranes have a bilayer of phospholipids, with a
  hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail
• Sterols several fused carbon rings
• Waxes long chains of fatty acids with alcohol or
  carbon rings

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Proteins

• Made of smaller subunits called amino acids
• Functions
• Enzymes (biological catalyst)
• Structure
• Transport
• Hormones
• Signals

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Proteins

• All living organisms have 20 different amino
  acids
• Structure of amino acids
• Amino group
• Carboxyl group
• Side chains

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Protein Structures

• Primary ? amino acid sequence
• Secondary ? twisting coiling of chain
• Tertiary ? additional folding (domains)
• Quaternary ? may have 2 or more polypeptides
  together

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Protein Structures

• Peptide bonds join proteins together
• Breakdown of proteins denaturation, caused by a
  variety of factors

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Nucleic Acids

• Functions DNA RNA carry and translate the
  genetic code

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Nucleic Acids

• Building block is a nucleotide
• Sugar
• Deoxyribose in DNA (double stranded)
• Ribose in RNA (single stranded)
• Phosphate group along with the sugar makes up the
  backbone of the molecule
• Nitrogen containing bases are the genetic code

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Nucleic Acids

• In DNA, the bases are adenine, thymine, cytosine,
  guanine
• In RNA, the bases are adenine, uracil, cytosine
  guanine

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Review ??s

• Each carbon atom can share with as many as _____
  other atoms?
• 4
• The fatty acid tails of unsaturated fats
  incorporate one or more _____.
• Double covalent bond
• Which nucleotide is not found in DNA?
• Uracil
• A denatured protein has lost its _____?
• Hydrogen bond, function, and/or shape