Essay Frameworks

🔥 FRAMEWORK 1 ESSAY PLAN Amino Acids → Protein Structure → Function Paragraph 1 — Amino Acid Structure

• General amino acid structure

• R groups determine:

  • polarity

  • charge

  • hydrophobicity

• Chirality

• L amino acids in proteins

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Paragraph 2 — Peptide Bonds + Backbone

• Condensation reactions

• Peptide bond properties:

  • planar

  • rigid

  • partial double bond

• φ and ψ rotation

• Ramachandran constraints

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Paragraph 3 — Secondary Structure

• α-helices

• β-sheets

• Hydrogen bonding

• Backbone geometry

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Paragraph 4 — Tertiary + Quaternary Structure

• Hydrophobic effect

• Ionic interactions

• H-bonds

• Disulfides

• Multiple subunits

• Cooperativity

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Paragraph 5 — Structure → Function Examples

• Keratin

• Collagen

• Myoglobin

• Haemoglobin

🔥 FRAMEWORK 2 ESSAY PLAN pH → Buffers → Amino Acid Ionisation Paragraph 1 — pH + Acids/Bases

• pH definition

• logarithmic scale

• Brønsted-Lowry acids/bases

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Paragraph 2 — Ka + pKa

• Acid dissociation

• Strong vs weak acids

• pKa relationship

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Paragraph 3 — Buffers

• Weak acid + conjugate base

• Le Chatelier principle

• Buffer capacity

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Paragraph 4 — Henderson-Hasselbalch

• Relationship between:

  • pH

  • pKa

  • [A-]/[HA]

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Paragraph 5 — Amino Acid Ionisation

• Low/intermediate/high pH

• Zwitterions

• pI

• Electrophoresis relevance

🔥 FRAMEWORK 3 ESSAY PLAN Protein Folding → Stability → Disease

Paragraph 1 — Folding Principles

• Native conformation

• Amino acid sequence determines structure

• Anfinsen

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Paragraph 2 — Folding Forces

• Hydrophobic effect

• H-bonds

• Ionic

• van der Waals

• Disulfides

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Paragraph 3 — Folding Pathways

• Levinthal paradox

• Cooperative folding

• Thermodynamics + kinetics

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Paragraph 4 — Chaperones

• Hsp70

• ATP-driven cycles

• Prevent aggregation

• Proteostasis

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Paragraph 5 — Denaturation + Disease

• Heat/pH/urea

• Amyloid fibrils

• Alzheimer’s

• β-sheet aggregation

🔥 FRAMEWORK 4 ESSAY PLAN Protein Techniques

Paragraph 1 — Purification Principles

• Separation by:

  • size

  • charge

  • polarity

  • affinity

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Paragraph 2 — Gel Filtration + SDS-PAGE

• Porous beads

• Large proteins elute first

• SDS denaturation

• Uniform negative charge

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Paragraph 3 — IEF + 2D Electrophoresis

• Separation by pI

• pH gradient

• Combination methods

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Paragraph 4 — Beer-Lambert + Sequencing

• Absorbance

• Protein concentration

• Edman degradation

• Trypsin cleavage

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Paragraph 5 — Structural Determination

• X-ray crystallography

• NMR

• Compare advantages

🔥 FRAMEWORK 5 ESSAY PLAN Enzymes → Catalysis → Kinetics

Paragraph 1 — Enzyme Structure

• Active site

• Specificity

• ES complex

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Paragraph 2 — Catalysis

• Lower activation energy

• Transition-state stabilisation

• Acid-base catalysis

• Metal ion catalysis

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Paragraph 3 — Michaelis-Menten

v=Vmax[S]Km+[S]v=\frac{V_{max}[S]}{K_m+[S]}v=Km​+[S]Vmax​[S]​

• Saturation kinetics

• Vmax

• Km

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Paragraph 4 — Kinetic Parameters

• kcat

• efficiency

• first-order vs zero-order

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Paragraph 5 — Physiological Integration

• Hexokinase

• Glucokinase

• Tissue-specific function

🔥 FRAMEWORK 6 ESSAY PLAN Enzyme Inhibition

Paragraph 1 — Reversible Inhibition Overview

• Non-covalent inhibition

• Effects on kinetics

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Paragraph 2 — Competitive Inhibition

• Active site competition

• Km ↑

• Vmax same

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Paragraph 3 — Uncompetitive + Mixed

• ES binding

• Vmax ↓

• Km changes

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Paragraph 4 — Non-competitive

• Equal affinity for E + ES

• Km same

• Vmax ↓

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Paragraph 5 — Experimental Identification

• Lineweaver-Burk plots

• KI

• Drug significance

🔥 FRAMEWORK 7 ESSAY PLAN Oxygen Binding + Allostery

Paragraph 1 — Myoglobin

• Monomer

• Hyperbolic curve

• Oxygen storage

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Paragraph 2 — Haemoglobin

• Tetramer

• Quaternary structure

• Cooperative binding

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Paragraph 3 — T ↔ R Transition

• Conformational change

• Sigmoidal binding

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Paragraph 4 — Allosteric Regulation

• H+

• CO2

• 2,3-BPG

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Paragraph 5 — Bohr Effect + Physiology

• Low pH

• Oxygen unloading

• Tissue delivery

🔥 FRAMEWORK 8 ESSAY PLAN Carbohydrates → Structure → Function

Paragraph 1 — Monosaccharides

• Aldose vs ketose

• Chiral carbons

• D/L sugars

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Paragraph 2 — Cyclisation

• Pyranose/furanose

• Anomers

• Mutarotation

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Paragraph 3 — Chair Conformation

• Axial/equatorial

• Stability

• β-glucose

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Paragraph 4 — Glycosidic Bonds

• α vs β

• Linkage effects

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Paragraph 5 — Storage vs Structural Polysaccharides

• Starch/glycogen

• Cellulose/chitin

• Structure-function relationship

🔥 FRAMEWORK 9 ESSAY PLAN Lipids → Membranes → Signalling

Paragraph 1 — TAGs + Fatty Acids

• Energy storage

• Saturated vs unsaturated

• Melting points

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Paragraph 2 — Essential Fatty Acids + Eicosanoids

• ω3/ω6

• Prostaglandins

• Leukotrienes

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Paragraph 3 — Phospholipids

• Amphipathic structure

• Bilayers

• Membrane organisation

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Paragraph 4 — PI Signalling

• PIP2 cleavage

• DAG

• IP3

• Calcium signalling

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Paragraph 5 — Sphingolipids

• Recognition

• Gangliosides

• Cholera toxin

• Tay-Sachs

🔥 FRAMEWORK 10 ESSAY PLAN Cholesterol → Steroids → Homeostasis

Paragraph 1 — Cholesterol Structure

• Sterol

• Amphipathic

• Membrane role

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Paragraph 2 — Membrane Fluidity

• Cholesterol regulation

• Membrane rafts

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Paragraph 3 — Bile Salts

• Amphipathic detergents

• Lipid digestion

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Paragraph 4 — Steroid Hormones

• Glucocorticoids

• Mineralocorticoids

• Sex hormones

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Paragraph 5 — Vitamin D

• Cholesterol-derived

• Calcium homeostasis

• Deficiency effects