Biomolecules : Classification and structural properties of carbohydrates, lipids, aminoacids, proteins

and nucleic acids.
Carbohydrates : Monosaccharides, digosaccharides, and polysaccharides (starch, glycogen, cellulose).
Proteins : Simple (albumins, globulins, collagen) and conjugated proteins (only examples).
Nucleic acids : Structure of DNA, RNA, types of RNA.

1. Introduction

Life arose around 4 million year ago. Small cells or so called microorganisms at that time could harness the

energy from inorganic or sunlight to build small biomolecules. These biomolecules then actually constituted the

dynamic and vibrant living world. These biomolecules seem to obey the laws of Physics and Chemistry yet

constitute the diverse living biota. Thus it becomes very intriguing to know these seemingly lifeless molecules,

their structure in order to understand how they formed and contribute to the functioning of the living world.

1.1 What is a biomolecule?

A biomolecule is an organic molecule produced by a living organism, primarily consisting of carbon, hydrogen

and oxygen and to lesser extent phosphorous and sulfur. Therefore all living organisms are essentially made up

carbon , hydrogen and oxygen . Other elements sometimes are incorporated but are much less common. All

these biomolecules work together in an interrelated fashion to form an organism.

2. Types: Biomolecules are of four major types

 Carbohydrates

 Proteins

 Lipids and

 Nucleic acids

Concept 2: Classes of Biomolecules

The four major classes of biomolecules each have their own characteristic monomers and
corresponding polymers.
Even though there are thousands of different types of molecules in a cell, there are only a few
basic classes of biomolecules. The table below lists the major classes, all of which are
covered in this Lab Simulations activity and are accessible by clicking the name in the table.
Monomer Polymer
*
Fatty acid Diglyceride, triglyceride
Monosaccharide Polysaccharide
Amino acid Polypeptide (protein)
Nucleic acid (DNA,
Nucleotide
RNA)
*
 Diglycerides and triglycerides are made by dehydration synthesis from smaller molecules;
this is not the same kind of end-to-end linking of similar monomers that qualifies as
polymerization. Therefore, diglycerides and triglycerides are an exception to the term
polymer in this table.

Lipids include various biomolecules whose common property is their

insolubility in water.
Lipids include a variety of molecular types, such as neutral fats, oils,
steroids, and waxes. Unlike other classes of biomolecules, lipids do not
form large polymers. Two or three fatty acids are usually polymerized with
glycerol, but other lipids, such as steroids, do not form polymers. 

Lipids perform many important functions in biological systems, including:

• contributing to the structure of membranes that enclose cells and cell
compartments
• protecting against dessication (drying out)
• storing concentrated energy
• insulating against cold
• absorbing shocks
• regulating cell activities by hormone actions
Steroids function both as hormones (such as the sex hormones estrogen and
testosterone) and as structural material (such as cholesterol, an integral part
of animal cell membranes).
Concept 4: Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates, which include the sugars and polysaccharides, have many important functions in biological
systems.
Carbohydrates are so named because the structural formula is typically (CH2O)n, where n is an integer such as 5
(C5H10O5), 6 (C6H12O6), etc. Although this formula might suggest that carbon atoms are joined to water, the
actual molecules are more complicated.

Like most classes of biological molecules, carbohydrates occur as both monomers and polymers. Small
carbohydrates are called sugars, which commonly include monosaccharides (single sugars) and some
disaccharides (two sugars linked together). Larger carbohydrates are called polysaccharides (many sugars
linked together).

Functions of carbohydrates include:

• serving as precursors for building many polymers

• storing short-term energy

• providing structural building materials

• serving as molecular "tags" to allow recognition of specific cells and molecules

Concept 5: Proteins
The most abundant and diverse molecules found in living cells are proteins.
Proteins are macromolecules, ranging from simply large to enormous.
Proteins typically make up about half the total weight of biomolecules in a
cell (excluding water).

Ribonuclease Collagen Hemoglobin

Proteins play a wide variety of functional roles, including:

• enzymes as catalysts, such as ribonuclease, that accelerate specific

chemical reactions up to 10 billion times faster than they would
spontaneously occur; one cell may contain some thousand different types of
enzymes at one time

• structural materials, including keratin (the protein found in hair and nails)
and collagen (the protein found in connective tissue)

• specific binding, such as antibodies that bind specifically to foreign

substances to identify them to the body's immune system

• specific carriers, including membrane transport proteins that move

substances across cell membranes, and blood proteins, such as hemoglobin,
that carry oxygen, iron, and other substances through the body

• contraction, such as actin and myosin fibers that interact in muscle tissue

• signaling, including hormones such as insulin that regulate sugar levels in

blood
Concept 6: Nucleic Acids
Nucleic acids, built by polymerizing nucleotides, function primarily as
informational molecules for the storage and retrieval of information about
the primary sequence of polypeptides.

There are two types of nucleic acids:

• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which serves as a cellular database by
storing an immense amount of information about all the polypeptides a cell
can potentially make.
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA), which occurs in several different forms
(messenger RNA, ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA) and is needed to convert
DNA information into polypeptide sequences; in some viruses, RNA serves
as the primary database with no DNA involvement; certain RNAs have
catalytic ability similar to that of protein enzymes called ribozymes
Nucleic acids are built from subunits called nucleotides. Each nucleotide
has three components: 

1. a ring-shaped molecule belonging to the class of purine or pyrimidine

bases 

2. a 5-carbon, or pentose, sugar 

3. one or more phosphate groups