Day 6 - Biochemistry - Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids & Nucleic Acids

The goal of biochemistry is to describe and explain in molecular terms, all chemical processes of living cells.

The expansive field of biochemistry can be broken up into the following major areas of mechanistic research:

Chemistry of:

• carbohydrates
• lipids
• proteins
• nucleoproteins, nucleic acids, nucleotides
• hemoglobin, porphyrins & relatives

Vitamins
Enzymes
Changes in foodstuffs in alimentary tract
Detoxification mechanisms

• oxidation
• reduction
• hydrolysis
• conjucation

Respiration
Water balance
Acid-Base Balance
Energy metabolism
Metabolism of:

• carbohydrates
• lipids
• proteins
• nucleic acids
• porphyrins & family
• inorganics

Metabolic anatagonism
Blood & other body fluids
Hormones
Urine formation & Renal function

Anatomy of an Animal Cell

General charactoristics:

• Nucleus
• Cytoplasm
• Organelles
• Endoplasmic reticulum (smooth and rough)
• Golgi apparatus
• Lysosomes
• Mitochondria
• Cytoskeleton
• Cell membrane & Extracellular matrix
  

A few comments on Organic Molecules:

• Life as we know it is based on carbon
• Functional groups-clusters of atoms wiht characteristic structure & functions
• Monomers and Polymers
• Condensation-making polymers by lining up monomers and eliminating a water molecule
• Hydrolysis-breaking polymers apart by introducing a water molecule
• Bonds are not physical links. They are links of pure energy
• Covalent bond - sharing electrons (polar and nonpolar)
• Ionic bond - electrons are transferred from one atom to another
• Hydrogen bond - weak attractive force between polar molecules

There are about 50,000 different kinds of proteins in the human body. Proteins are large polypeptides with molecular weights of 10,000 to 1,000,000. The have four levels of structure:

1. Primary structure: sequence of the amino acids that make up the protein
2. Secondary: helical twist
3. Tertiary: a defined 3D geometric shape
4. Quaternary: number & types of polypeptide units & their geometry

Nucleic Acids: Polymers of nucleotides that are made up of 3 components

1. Phosphate group
2. Five carbon sugar called ribose (or deoxyribose)
3. Nitrogenous base

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) - the protein which stores the genetic information passed on from parent to offspring

RNA (ribonucleic acid) - serves as the translator of genetic information contained in DNA

Day 6–Biochemistry – Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids and Nucleic Acids

1. Define Proteins, Carbohydrates, Lipids and Nucleic Acids. Draw a structure of each.

2. Describe the three types of bonds molecules can take on and give examples of each.

3. True or False, “All carbohydrates are sugars.” Why?

4. Describe the value of Glycogen to the mammalian system.

5. Define Hydrophobic, Hydrophilic and the importance of this in the cellular membrane.

6. List the 10 essential Amino Acids. Draw their structures.

7. Give examples of denatured proteins.

8. What is ATP? Draw the structure. Why is it important to cells?

9. List the 6 classes of enzymes & what they catalyze.

10. Enzymes perform catalysis using 4 main mechanisms.

List & Describe.