Intro & Biochem

Macromolecules

large complex biomolecules

Monomers

smallest molecules that act as building blocks for polymers

Dehydration synthesis

a simple way of joining monomers to make polymers

• end product is H₂O

Carbohydrates

energy storage, receptors, food, structural role in plants, fungal cell walls, exoskeletons of insects

Lipids

Energy storage, membrane structure, insulation, hormones, pigments

Nucleic acids

Storage and transfer of genetic information

Proteins

Enzymes, structure, receptors, transport, structural role in the cytoskeleton of a cell and the extracellular matrix

Sugars, fatty acids, amino acids, and nucleotides

four main building blocks of small organic molecules in cells

polysaccharides/glycogen/starch (plants), fats and membrane lipids, proteins, nucleic acids

four main building blocks of large organic molecules in cells

Carbohydrates

most abundant biomolecule on Earth

Carbohydrates (saccharides)

Functions:

• food source

• store and transmit genetic information (DNA & RNA)
  basis of biological polymers such as cellulose and chitin (cell wall)

• primary source of energy storage in forms of starch and glycogen

Monosaccharide

• Simplest form or basic building blocks of carbohydrates

• Monomers for the synthesis of complex polymers

• C=O

Disaccharides

• Two monosaccharides join to form this

• Mostly sweet and water soluble

• Dehydration principle (H₂O as a product)

e.g.,

• monosaccharide-O-monosaccharide

glycosidic bond

The covalent bond that attaches disaccharides/polysaccharides together is called a….

Polysaccharides

• Larger than disaccharides

• Composed of hundreds (or thousands) of monosaccharides

• NOT sweet

• NOT soluble

• linked together by glycosidic bonds

polysaccharides

Which carbohydrate is NOT sweet and NOT water-soluble?

Starch and Glycogen

Which example of polysaccharides?

• Branched

• Primary energy-storage in animals

• Bacteria and plants

Cellulose(fiber)

Which example of polysaccharides?

• Linear chains

• Cell wall of plants and other organisms

Lipids

Roles:

• Source of nutrients

• Storage form for carbon

• Energy-storage molecules

• Structural component of membrane and hormones

Composed of:

• C & H primarily

• Also, O, N, S, and P

Fatty acids

lipids that contain long-chain hydrocarbons terminated with a carboxylic acid functional group

• can be saturated or unsaturated

Saturated

Saturated or Unsaturated?

Linear with most amount of H

Unsaturated

Saturated or Unsaturated?

Slightly bent with fewer H

Triglycerides

• form when three fatty acids are chemically linked to a glycerol molecule

  • by Dehydration Synthesis

• found in adipose (body fat) tissue

• Used as energy-storage molecules

glycerol; fatty

Triglycerides are simple molecules of two types of compounds: ________ & _______ acids.

hydrophobic

Complex lipids such as phospholipids contain:

a _________ tail

hydrophilic

Complex lipids such as phospholipids contain:

a _________ head

Amino Acid

• Organic molecule

• H group, carboxyl (-COOH) group, and amine group (-NH₂) all bonded to the same carbon atom (alpha carbon)

protein

When many polypeptides come together, the macromolecule formed is called a ________.

Peptide bond

Reaction between the carboxylic acid group of one amino acid with the amine group of another

• also an example of dehydration synthesis

nucleotides

Nucleic acids are composed of monomers called…..

DNA

Nucleotides for DNA or RNA?

• Five carbon sugar called deoxyribose

• Phosphate group

• Nitrogenous base

• A → T

• C → G

Hydrogen bonds

Which type of bonds form between the bases of each DNA strand?

Water

The most abundant molecule in the cell is: