BIOMOLECULES

Important Terms

• Molecular biology: study of structure

and functioning of biological
molecules
• Metabolism: sum total of all the
biochemical reactions in the body
• Macromolecule: “giant molecule”
molecules that
are present in
living organisms
CARBOHYDRATES
 CARBOHYDRATES
• most abundant molecules of life
• energy source
• plants produce them in abundance by
photosynthesis
• consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
(CHO)
 Classifications of Carbohydrates
1. Simple Carbohydrates
• Monosaccharides
• Disaccharides

2. Complex Carbohydrates
• Oligosaccharides
• Polysaccharides
 Classifications of Carbohydrates
1. Monosaccharides
• simple carbohydrates (simple sugars)
• building blocks of more complex
carbohydrates molecule
GLUCOSE “Blood sugar”

FRUCTOSE “Fruit sugar”

GALACTOSE “Brain sugar”

 Classifications of Carbohydrates
2. Disaccharides
• two monosaccharides combined
“Table sugar”

“Milk sugar”

“Malt sugar”
 Classifications of Carbohydrates
3. Oligosaccharides
• complex carbohydrates consists of three to
ten monosaccharides combined
(ex. beans, asparagus, cabbage, broccoli, etc.)

Raffinose
(glucose+galactose+fructose)
 Classifications of Carbohydrates
4. Polysaccharides
• complex carbohydrates rich in vitamins,
minerals and fiber

Starch (plant carbohydrate)

Glycogen (animal starch)
Chitin (exo-skeleton of insects and crustaceans)
Cellulose (structural component of plant cell
wall)
GLYCOGEN
PROTEINS
 PROTEINS
• building blocks of life
• consists of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen (CHON) some with sulfur and
phosphorus (CHONPS)
Amino acids – building blocks of protein
– connected by peptide bonds
to form long chain of protein
Amino Acids
• building blocks of protein
• there are 20 standard amino acids, 11 of
those are non-essential and 9 are essential
Essential amino acids – comes from food
Non-essential amino acids – naturally
produced by our body
Enzymes
Enzymes
• comprise most of the proteins in living cells
• control rates of many chemical reactions to
bring about certain metabolic processes
• end in suffix – ase
• functions of enzymes are greatly influenced
by the chain structure of the protein molecule
Denaturation – change in chain structure by
breaking of peptide bonds
– caused by heat, pressure and acidity
Factors Affecting Activity of
Enzymes
• temperature
• pH concentration of the enzyme
and substrate
• collision or contact between the
molecules of the enzyme and
substrate
Metabolic Pathway
• sequence of chemical reactions occurring
in a cell
• enzymes work together

Cofactors– chemical substances that assist

many enzymes for chemical reaction to take
place, may be ions or molecules
Ex. iron, manganese and zinc
Coenzymes– organic molecules acting as
cofactors

NAD FAD
(Nicotinamide Adenine (Flavin Adenine
Dinucleotide) Dinucleotide)
Enzyme-substrate complex - combination when
the active site interacts with the substrate
Two Metabolic Pathways
1. Catabolic pathways (Catabolism) –
breakdown or digestion of large molecules,
releases energy
2. Anabolic pathways (Anabolism) –
synthesis of larger molecules by joining
smaller molecules, requires energy
LIPIDS
 LIPIDS
• largely hydrocarbons
• dissolve in nonpolar substances and have
partial or complete insolubility in water
Groups:
1. Triglycerides
2. Sphingolipids
3. Phospholipids
4. Steroids
Triglycerides
• body’s main energy reservoir
• made up of one glycerol backbone and three fatty
acids
• fats and oils
Difference between fats and oils

Fats Oils
• saturated fatty acid molecules • unsaturated fatty acid
• solid at room temperature molecules
• obtained from animal sources • liquid at room temperature
• obtained from plant sources
Sphingolipids
• complex lipids made up of sphingosine linked
through a complex polar head to one long fatty acid
chain
Phospholipids (Phosphatides)
• have a phosphate base groups replacing one of the
fatty acids in a triglyceride
• form micelles when dispersed in water to form a
bilayer, the basis of the phospholipid bilayer of all
biological membranes
Steroids
• have similar solubility properties as lipids but are
not fatty acids or esters
• common basic structure is the steroid nucleus
Testosterone – primary androgen hormone Estrogen – promote the development and
– male sex hormone maintenance of female characteristics of
the body

Cortisone – released in response to stress Vitamin D – calcium absorption

NUCLEIC ACIDS
 NUCLEIC ACIDS
• informational molecules that carry the code of
life
• blue prints for proteins, thus ultimately
controlling the life of a cell

Types of Nucleic Acids

1. DNA (deoxyribose nucleic acid)
2. RNA (ribonucleic acid)
Nucleotides
• building blocks of nucleic acids
• chemical messengers, energy carriers and
subunits for nucleic acids and coenzymes
Consists of:
1. Pentose sugar (Deoxyribose or Ribose)
2. Phosphate
3. Nitrogen bases (Adenine-Thymine, Guanine-
Cytosine)
DNA (Double Helix)
“Deoxyribonucleic acid”
• it is located in the
chromosomes in the
nucleus with a little found
in the mitochondria and in
chloroplasts
• carry the genetic message
RNA (Mediator of Translation)
“Ribonucleic Acid”
• provides mechanism for translating DNA
language into the language of protein
biosynthesis
• short-lived messenger (messenger RNA) and
carrier (transfer RNA) of amino acids to the
ribosomes
• ribosomal RNA assembled in the nucleus is
transported to the cytoplasm to serve as the
site of the translation of the mRNA to protein
 DNA RNA
(Deoxyribonucleic acid) (Ribonucleic acid)