WHAT IS BIOCHEMISTRY? -A living thing must have a cell.

-The study of the chemical substances found in
living organisms and the chemical interaction of
these substances with each other.
-A living thing is made up of cells.
HISTORY OF BIOCHEMISTRY
-The benefit of biochemistry to humankind was
already evident for thousands of years already,
probably 8000 years ago along with fermentation
process done in grapes to make it into wine

BIOLOGICAL SUBSTANCES
-A chemical substance found within a living
organism. It is divided into two (2) groups:
Bioorganic substances
Bioinorganic substances
-In a living thing they are composed of
inorganic and organic substances.
ATTIBUTES OF LIFE
-It entails the need of energy or adenosine
triphosphate (ATP)
-Biochemistry as a science can be said to have
originated early nineteenth century, with the
pioneering work of Friedrich Wohler in
Germany. Early biochemists had to overcome the
doctrine of Vitalism, which claimed that living
matter and nonliving matter were fundamentally
different.

LIVING THING vs NON-LIVING THING

Adaptation
Growth and repair
Reproduction
Metabolism
Complexity and organization
Regulation
Characteristic, size, and shape
Response to stimuli
Locomotion
Variation and change -Another landmark in the history of biochemistry
occurred in the mid-nineteenth century when the
HOW DO WE GET ENERGY? great French chemist Louis Pasteur (Father of
-From the food we eat.

WHERE CAN WE GET FOOD?

-From the environment
Watson and Crick
WHAT ARE CELLS?
-They are the basic unit of life
-Cells are keeping us alive

WHAT MAKES THE LIVING APART FROM

NON-LIVING?
Microbiology) turned his attention to Radioscopes
fermentation in order to help the French wine Gel electrophoresis
industry. Enzymes
Polymerase Chain Reaction
-The Vitalist Dogma was shattered in 1897 when
two (2) German brothers, Eduard and Hans BIOCHEMISTRY AS A DISCIPLINE AND
Buchner, found that the extracts from broken and INTERDISCIPLINE
thoroughly dead yeast cells could carry out the -In trying to understand biochemistry, we must
entire process of fermentation of sugar into consider it both as an interdisciplinary field and as
ethanol. distinct discipline. It shares its major concepts and
techniques with many disciplines:
-The answer to the question what factors Organic chemistry
determines why yeast cells might ferment sugar to Physical chemistry
ethanol, while bacteria containing wine culture Biophysics
might convert the sugar to acetic acid and turn Medical science
wine to vinegar was answered when we knew Nutrition
about genes. The expression of genes controls the Microbiology
synthesis of the enzymes involved. Physiology
Cell biology
-Biology was transformed in 1953, when Watson Genetics
and Crick proposed the double-helical model for
DNA structure. -Biochemistry draws strength from all of these
disciplines, and it nourishes them in return; it is
truly interdisciplinary science.

ELEMENTS AND MOLECULES OF LIVING

SYSTEMS
-All forms of life, from the smallest bacterial cell
to a human being, are constructed from the same
chemical elements, which in turn make ip the
systems in similar throughout the biological
world; the reactions and pathways that will
concern us involve fewer than 200 different
molecules.

TOOLS OF BIOCHEMISTRY
-Powerful new chemical and physical techniques
have accelerated the pace at which biological
process have become understood in molecular
terms.

-Biochemistry is an experimental science – more

Left
so, to for
Right:example,
Friedrich Wohler,
that Louis Pasteurwith
physicsits large
-Life depends primarily on few elements (C, N, O,
theoretical component. We will describe the
H, S, and P), although many others have essential
experimental basis for much of our understanding
functions as well.
of biochemistry
X-rays
THE CHEMICAL ELEMENTS OF CELLS
AND ORGANISMS BIOCHEMICAL SUBSTANCES
-Relatively few elements are involved in the BIOORGANIC SUBSTANCES
creation of living systems. Living creatures on -Proteins (about 15%)
Earth are composed primarily of just four -Lipids (about 8%)
elements – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and -Carbohydrates (about 2%)
nitrogen. -Nucleic Acids (about 2%)
BIOINORGANIC SUBSTANCES
-But life is not built on these four elements alone. -Water (70%)
Many other elements are necessary for organisms -Inorganic salts (about 5%)
on Earth, such elements include sulfur and
phosphorus. Life depends primarily on a few
elements (C, H, O, N, S, and P), although many
others have essential functions as well.

COMPLEXITY AND SIZE OF BIOLOGICAL

MOLECULES
-The complexity of life processes requires that
many of the molecules governing them be
enormous. ORIGINS OF BIOMOLECULES AND
CELLS
BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES -Once the chemical elements had formed, during
-are giant molecules made up of smaller organic cooling of the second-generation stars, how did
molecule subunits. In living organisms there are the complex molecules that we associate with
four major classes of macromolecules, all living systems come into being on Earth? An
essential to the structure and function of cells. educated guess is that they arose as part of a
Proteins “Primordial Soup” within the oceans.
Nucleic acids
Carbohydrates COMPLEXITY AND SIZE OF THE
Lipids BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES
-The complexity of life processes requires the
many of the molecules governing them be
enormous. Consider, for instance, the DNA
molecules released from one human chromosome.
The long, looped thread you see corresponds to a
small part of a huge molecule, with a molecular
mass of about 20 billion daltons.

-Even a simple single organism such as the single-

celled bacterium Escherichia coli contains DNA
molecule with a molecular mass of about 2 billion
Da.

-Biological macromolecules are giant molecules

made up of smaller organic molecule subunits. In
living organisms there are four major classes of
macromolecules, all essential to the structure and
function of cells.