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alpha helix

A delicate coil held together by hydrogen bonding between every fourth amino acid backbone.

amino acid

An organic molecule possessing both an amino group and a carboxyl group.

beta pleated sheet

One form of the secondary structure of proteins in which the polypeptide chain folds back and forth and are held together by hydrogen bonds.

Carbohydrates

A sugar or one of its dimers or polymers.

catalysts

A chemical agent that selectively increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction.

Cellulose

A structural polysaccharide of plant cell walls, consisting of glucose monomers joined by beta glycosidic linkages.

Chaperonins

Protein molecules that assist in the proper folding of other proteins.

Chitin

A structural polysaccharide used by arthropods to build their exoskeletons.

Cholesterol

A steroid that forms an essential component of animal cell membranes and acts as a precursor molecule for the synthesis of other biologically important steroids.

dehydration reaction

A reaction in which two molecules are covalently bonded to each other, with the loss of a water molecule.

Denaturation

The change that occurs when a protein unravels or loses its shape.

deoxyribonucleic acid

A nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine.

Deoxyribose

The sugar component of DNA nucleotides, having one fewer hydroxyl group than ribose.

Disaccharide

A double sugar, consisting of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage.

disulfide bridges

Covalent bonds between the sulfhydryl groups of two cysteine amino acids.

Enzymes

Specialized macromolecules that speed up chemical reactions.

Fat

A lipid consisting of three fatty acids linked to one glycerol molecule.

fatty acid

A carboxylic acid with a long carbon chain.

Gene

Discrete units of inheritance that consists of DNA.

Glycogen

The storage polysaccharide found in animals.

glycosidic linkage

A covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction.

Hydrolysis

This reaction disassembles polymers into monomers by the addition of water molecules.

hydrophobic interactions

A type of weak chemical interaction caused when molecules that do not mix with water coalesce to exclude water.

Lipids

Any of a group of large biological molecules, including fats, phospholipids, and steroids, that mix poorly, if at all, with water.

monomers

The subunit that serves as the building block of a polymer.

Monosaccharides

The simplest carbohydrate, active alone or serving as a monomer for disaccharides or polysaccharides.

nucleic acid

A polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers; serves as a blueprint for proteins.

Nucleotides

The building block of a nucleic acid, consisting of a five-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and one or more phosphate groups.

peptide bond

The covalent bond between the carboxyl group on one amino acid and the amino group on another, formed by a dehydration reaction.

Phospholipids

Lipids that are the main components of cell membranes.

Polymer

A long molecule consisting of many similar or identical building blocks linked by covalent bonds.

macromolecules

A giant molecule formed by the joining of smaller molecules, usually by a dehydration reaction.

Polynucleotides

A polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers in a chain.

Polypeptides

Polymers of proteins.

Polysaccharides

A polymer of many monosaccharides, formed by dehydration reactions.

primary structure

The level of protein structure referring to the specific linear sequence of amino acids.

Protein

A biologically functional molecule consisting of one or more polypeptides folded and coiled into a specific three-dimensional structure.

Purine

One of two types of nitrogenous bases found in nucleotides, characterized by a six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring.

Pyrimidine

One of two types of nitrogenous bases found in nucleotides, characterized by a six-membered ring.

quaternary structure

The particular shape of a complex, aggregate protein, defined by the characteristic three-dimensional arrangement of its constituent subunits.

ribonucleic acid

A type of nucleic acid consisting of a polynucleotide made up of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar.

Ribose

The sugar component of RNA nucleotides.

saturated fatty acid

A fatty acid in which all carbons in the hydrocarbon tail are connected by single bonds.

secondary structure

Regions of repetitive coiling or folding of the polypeptide backbone of a protein due to hydrogen bonding.

Starch

A storage polysaccharide in plants, consisting entirely of glucose monomers joined by alpha glycosidic linkages.

Steroids

Lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four fused rings.

tertiary structure

The overall shape of a protein molecule due to interactions of amino acid side chains.

unsaturated fatty acid

A fatty acid that has one or more double bonds between carbons in the hydrocarbon tail.