biological molecules used in biomedical engineering
proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids
liposomes
lipid molecules assembled to aid in anticancer drugs.
Ions
molecules with a net charge
Ionic bonds
electrons being transferred from one atom to another
cation
positively charged ion
anion
negatively charged ion
covalent bonds
sharing of electrons
what are the charges of a H2O molecule?
oxygen is slightly negative, hydrogen is slightly positive
gene delivery
act of transferring foreign DNA into a cell
hydrogen bonds
when a partially positive hydrogen atom in a polar bond is attracted to a slightly negative atom (O, N, F) in a neighboring molecule, holds large molecules together
what holds together macromolecules?
all atoms are held together by covalent or ionic bonds
molecular complex
collections of molecules held together often by weak bonds (ie. hydrogen bonds) held together in a single unit
enzymes
type of molecular complex that speeds up chemical conversions
van der Waals interactions
weak noncovalent attraction, usually results from temporary and unequal electron distributions around atoms
aqueous
water-rich
hydrophobic effect
when hydrophobic molecules aggregate together to exclude water as best as they can, driving force in protein folding
amphiphilic
molecules that contain both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups (ie. phospholipids used to make liposomes)
acidosis
excess of acid in the body fluids, as may occur in kidney disease or diabetes
adenosine 5’ triphosphate (ATP)
nucleotide that is the most important molecule for capturing and transferring free energy in cells, hydrolysis of each of the two high-energy phosphoanydride bonds in ATP is accompanied by a large energy change
aquaporin
a water channel protein that allows water molecules to cross the cell membrane much more rapidly than through the phospholipid bilayer
base
a compound usually containing nitrogen that can accept a proton
chemical equilibrium
the state of a reaction when the forward and reverse reaction are occurring at the same time
complementary sequence
a sequence the nucleotide bases of which match or hybridize (mirror image) with original sequence
condensation
opposite of hydrolysis
deoxyribose
5 carbon sugar of DNA
endothermic
referring to a chemical concentration that absorbs heat
enthalpy
a thermodynamic property of chemicals that indicates the amount of internal energy
facilitated diffusion
protein-aided transport of molecules across a membrane down its concentration gradient
first-order reaction
a reaction where all of the reaction rates are equal to the rate constant x concentration
flux
rate of transfer fluid, particles, or energy across a given surface
formation reaction
a chemical reaction that describes the formation of a compound from the most stable form of its components
fructose
hexose sugar especially found in fruits
galactose
hexose sugar that is a constituent of lactose and other polysaccharides
genetic information
hereditary info that is carried by nucleic acids
glucose
G6 H12 O6
glycolipid
two hydrocarbon chains linked to a polar head group containing carbs
glycoprotein
protein linked to oligosaccharides
hybridization
the process of two single strands of DNA assembling into double-stranded DNA
messenger RNA (mRNA)
a form of RNA in which genetic information transcribed from RNA is transferred to the ribosome
neutral
pH 7
passive diffusion
water and small uncharged molecules (O2 and CO2) passing through the plasma membrane
pentose
five-carbon sugar
peptide
small polymer containing less than 30 amino acids
polymerization
making polymers from a collection of monomers
ribose
five-carbon sugar part of RNA
transcription
process where genetic info contained represented as DNA nucleotides is copied into newly synthesized strands of RNA
translation
process where a sequence of nucleotide triplets in mRNA gives rise to a specific sequence of amino acids during protein synthesis