BIOMOLECULES

Lesson Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the student must be able to:

• Relate the behaviors of biomolecules to their biological functions.

LIPIDS
CH 3 (CH 2 ) n COOH
n - number of carbons

Lipids refer to a
diverse group of non
polar molecules and CH 3 (CH 2 ) n COOH
mostly aliphatic
chains.
Subunit: Most
Commonly Fatty Acids

#types
Lipids are categorized by the
common patterns of their
structures.
#saturation
When dealing with
1 1
organic chemistry, 2 2
always remember that 4
3 3
carbon connects 4 times.
If there are no explicit
connections, it’s implied
to be hydrogen.
Saturation refers to
whether the fatty acid is
carrying the maximum
amount of hydrogens.

#glycerides
1 Gylcerol + 1, 2, 3 Fatty Acids :)
#phospholipids
Gylcerol + 2 Fatty Acids + Phosphate
both polar and nonpolar (amphipathic)
Foundation of the cell membrane

#steroids
STEROIDS are lipids whose
structures appear as a distinct
four-ring structure.
Most are named with “-stero”
in the name.

CARBOHYDRATES
(CH 2 O) n
n - number of carbons

Carbohydrates are
biomolecules
characterized by
carbon atoms bonded
to an H-OH group
Subunit:
Monosaccharide

#types
Monosaccharides may be
named by number of carbons.
Polysaccharides may be
grouped by number of
subunits.

 #disaccharides
Simply combining 2 different
monosaccharides can change
the chemical behavior of a
carbohydrate.

Monosaccharide Monosaccharide Disaccharide

Glucose Fructose Sucrose

Glucose Galactose Lactose

Maltose
Glucose Glucose
Cellobiose

Glucosamine Glucosamine Chitobiose

 #polysaccharides
Polysaccharides are hundred
or thousand-subunit long
chains.
Because there is just so little
area of the sugar that can
interact with the environment,
they are used for energy
storage and structure.
Con guration also plays a
major role in determining the
strength of a glycosidic bond.
fi

PROTEINS
H 2 NCHRCOOH
R - a special group

H 2 NCHRCOOH
Proteins, or
Polypeptides are
chains of amino acids
with many many
functions.
Subunit: Amino Acid

NUCLEIC ACIDS
H 2 PO 4 C 5 H 8 O 4 X
X - a nitrogenous base H 2 PO 4 C 5 H 8 O 4 X
Nucleic Acids are
composed a
phosphate, ribose
sugar, and a
nitrogenous base and
can form repeating
chains.
Subunit: Amino Acid

#pairings
Nitrogenous bases are responsible for the actual storage of
information due to their selective pairing through H-bonding:
Adenine (A) pairs with Thymine (T) in DNA, and Uracil (U) in RNA;
Cytosine (C) pairs with Guanine (G)
This pairing happens in a one-is-to-one basis (Chargaff’s Rule)