BIOMOLECULES

Macromolecules - are large molecules composed of

thousands of covalently bonded atoms.

Macromolecules are polymers, built from

monomers
Polymers - is a long molecule consisting of many
similar building blocks.
Monomers - small building-block molecules. - means “hydrate of carbon” and derives from the
THE SYNTHESIS AND BREAKDOWN OF formula Cn(H2O)m
POLYMERS - include sugars and the polymers of sugars
A dehydration reaction occurs when two monomers - primary energy source our body needs
C, H, O (1:2:1 ratio)
bond together through the loss of a water molecule
4 CHEMICAL GROUPINGS OF
CARBOHYDRATES
- Monosaccharides
- Disaccharides
- Oligosaccharides
- Polysaccharides
MONOSACCHARIDES
- simple sugars
- - serve as a major fuel for cells and as raw
material for building molecules; have the
general formula CnH2nOn
- - have molecular formulas that are usually
multiples of OH
Polymers are disassembled to monomers by - - based on number of carbons (3, 4, 5, 6), a
hydrolysis, a reaction that is essentially the reverse monosaccharide is a triose, tetrose, pentose
of the dehydration reaction or hexose respectively.

- glucose (C6H12O6) is the most common

monosaccharide

CARBOHYDRATES
- Carbohydrates act as storehouses of
chemical energy
- Carbohydrates are polyhydroxyaldehydes,
polyhydroxyketones, or compounds
that yield them after hydrolysis
Carbohydrate (glycans) has this basic structure:
Monosaccharides are classified by:
BIOMOLECULES
- the location of the carbonyl group (as aldoses
and ketoses)
- the number of carbons in the carbon skeleton
- have the general formula CnH2nOn
Aldoses (e.g., glucose) have an aldehyde group
at one end.
Ketoses (e.g., fructose) have a keto group,
usually at C2.
ISOMERS - are molecules that have the same
molecular formula, but have a different
arrangement of the atoms in space.
FISCHER PROJECTION FORMULAS
- method of representing the three-
dimensional structures of molecules on a
page
- a convention used to depict a stereo formula
in two-dimensional spaces without
destroying the stereochemical information,
the absolute configurations, at chiral centres
- Draw a three-dimensional representation of
the molecule oriented so that the vertical
bonds from the stereocenter are directed
away from you and the horizontal bonds
from it are directed toward you.
- None of the bonds to stereocenter are in the
plane of the paper.
- Then write the molecule as a cross, with the
stereocenter indicated by the point at which
the bonds cross.
ENANTIOMERS
- a pair of molecules that exist in two forms that
are mirror images of one another but cannot be
superimposed one upon the other
D/L DESIGNATION
D & L designations are based on the
configuration about the single asymmetric C in
glyceraldehyde.
OH group of the penultimate C is on the right
OH group of the penultimate C is on the left
For sugars with more than one chiral center, D or
L refers to the asymmetric C farthest from the
aldehyde or keto group.
Most naturally occurring sugars are D isomers.
 D & L sugars are mirror images of one
another.
 They have the same name, e.g., D-glucose
& L-glucose.
 Other stereoisomers have unique names,
e.g., glucose, mannose, galactose, etc.
 The number of stereoisomers is 2n, where n
is the number of asymmetric centers.
 The 6-C aldoses have 4 asymmetric centers.
Thus there are 16 stereoisomers (8 D-sugars
and 8 L-sugars).
AMINO SUGARS
BIOMOLECULES

Amino sugars contain an -NH2 group in place of PYRANOSE

an -OH group. - A six-membered cyclic hemiacetal form of a
monosaccharide

CYCLIC STRUCTURES OF
MONOSACCHARIDES

a - (OH below the ring)

 - (OH above the ring)
CHAIR CONFORMATION
- it is more accurate than Haworth projections on
pyranose sugars

An aldehyde can react with an alcohol to form a

hemiacetal.
A ketone can react with an alcohol to form a
hemiketal.
ALDEHYDE

HAWORTH PROJECTION
- A way to view furanose and pyranose forms
of monosaccharides; the ring is drawn flat
and viewed through its edge, with the
anomeric carbon on the right and the oxygen
atom to the rear.
ANOMERIC CARBON
- The hemiacetal carbon of the cyclic form of
a monosaccharide.
ANOMERS
- Monosaccharides that differ in configuration
only at their anomeric carbons
FURANOSE
- A five-membered cyclic hemiacetal form of a
monosaccharide
OLIGOSACCHARIDES
made up of anywhere from two to ten
monosaccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds
- they are mildly sweet and are used as a partial
substitute for fats and sugars in some food as
well as to improve the texture of food
- they are short polymers containing 2-10
monosaccharide residues
Dissacharide – 2 monosaccharides
Trissacharide – 3 monosaccharides
- Each residue is connected by a glycosidic bond.
GLYCOSIDIC BOND
- A glycosidic bond is the ether linkage formed
an acetal is made by reacting a hemiacetal of a
monosaccharide with a hydroxyl on another
sugar
DISACCHARIDES
- is formed when a dehydration reaction joins
two monosaccharides
- this covalent bond is called a glycosidic linkage
Sucrose (GLUCOSE + FRUCTOSE)
- also known as table sugar, is the most abundant
disaccharide in the biological world. It is
BIOMOLECULES

obtained principally from the juice of sugar cane
and sugar beets.
- humans and other vertebrates store glycogen mainly
in liver and muscle cells
CELLULOSE
- a major component of the tough wall of plant cells
- like starch, cellulose is a polymer of glucose, but the
glycosidic linkages differ
CHITIN
- another structural polysaccharide, is found in the
exoskeleton of arthropods (crunch!)
- provides structural support for the cell walls of
many fungi

Lactose (GLUCOSE + GALACTOSE)

- the principal sugar present in milk

Maltose (GLUCOSE + GLUCOSE)

- derives its name from its presence in malt, the

juice from sprouted barley and other cereal
grains

POLYSACCHARIDES
- consists of hundreds of linked monomers of
glucose or other simple sugars
STORAGE
- STARCH
- CELLULOSE
- CHITIN
- GLYCOGEN
STARCH

- a storage polysaccharide of plants, consists

entirely of glucose monomers
- - plants store surplus starch as granules
within chloroplasts and other plastids
- - the simplest form of starch is AMYLOSE

GLYCOGEN

- is a storage polysaccharide in animals