Course: B.Tech.

(Biology)
Department of Computer Engineering
Semester III
Unit 4: Biomolecules

Faculty-
Dr. Ashima Sharma
Assistant Professor (Microbiology)
Department of Life Sciences
 BIOMOLECULES
Objectives:
1. Recognize the major categories of biomolecules
such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and
nucleic acids;
2. Differentiate the biomolecules from each other in
terms of their structure and function.
What are
BIOMOLECULES?
 Organic compounds made by
living things
 Compounds essential to life
 Also called biochemicals
 Some are very large - polymers
 There are thousands of different
biomolecules, but are separated
into 4 categories-
Carbohydrate, Lipids,
Proteins, Nucleic acids
IMPORTANT BIOMOLECULES OF LIFE

■ Water
■ CARBOHYDRATES
■ LIPIDS
■ PROTEINS
■ NUCLEIC ACIDS
■ ENZYMES
Characteristics of Biomolecules
• Most of them are organic compounds
• Have specific shape and dimensions
• Functional group based chemical properties
• Asymmetric
• Macromolecules
• Simple structure
• Building block molecules
• Arose by chemical evolution
 CARBOHYDRATES
• The simplest biomolecules

• Most widely distributed compound in plants &

animals

• The word carbohydrate literally means

“HYDRATES OF CARBON”
(CH2O)n

• Contain 3 elements:

Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H) Oxygen (O)

 FUNCTIONS

• Carbohydrates provide energy

• Regulate of blood glucose.
Preventing breakdown of Proteins for energy
• Part of Structural material of Plants
• Carbohydrates also help with FAT METABOLISM
• If the body has enough energy for its immediate
needs, it stores extra energy as fat
Representation of Carbohydrates
Breaking down into microscopic molecules

Loaf of bread Bread crumbs Polysaccharide

Monosaccharide Disaccharide
 Subtypes of Carbohydrates
MONOSACCHARIDES
(mono-“one” sacchar- “sugar”)

■ simple sugars and monomers of carbohydrates

Monosaccharide
■ have a formula of (CH2O)n, and they typically
contain three to seven carbon atoms.
Triose (3C) ■ “Polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones
Tetrose (4C) ■ Named according to number of carbon atoms
Pentose (5C)
Hexose (6C) ■ Name have the ending- „ose‟
Heptose (7C)
 OPTICAL ISOMERISM
Many sugars rotate the plane of
polarized light and exhibit optical
isomerism due to presence of
asymmetrical carbon atom.

A carbon atom is asymmetrical when

it has four different groups attached
to it.
 EXAMPLES OF
MONOSACCHARIDE S
• Glucose
• Galactose
• Fructose
 Subtypes of Carbohydrates
DERIVED MONOSACCHARIDES
 Subtypes of Carbohydrates

DISACCHARIDES
■ form when two monosaccharides
undergo a condensation reaction

■ Example:
1. Maltose [Glucose & Glucose]
2. Lactose [Glucose & Galactose]
3. Sucrose [Glucose & Fructose]
 Subtypes of Carbohydrates

POLYSACCHARIDES
■ A long chain of monosaccharides
linked by glycosidic bonds.
■ The typical polysaccharide is between
200 and 2500 monosaccharides long.
EXAMPLES OF
POLYSACCHARIDES

HOMOPOLYSACCHARIDES

■ STARCH
■ GLYCOGEN
■ CELLULOSE
■ CHITIN
■ INULIN
HETROPOLYSACCHARIDES

1. Peptidoglycan
2. Hyaluronic acid
3. Chondroitin sulfate
4. Pectin
 AMINO ACIDS

■ Basic unit of protein

■ Think of proteins as being like a word. Amino
acids are the letters in that word. Rearranging
the letters makes words with different
meanings.
■ Over 700 amino acid discovered
■ Most of them are alpha-amino acids
■ There are 20 amino acids required for
human life to exist.
PROTEINS
 Also known as POLYPEPTIDES

 Important component of all living

systems and perform diverse functions
inside the cell

 formed by a linear combination of amino

acids monomers (among 20) by peptide
linkage

 Contain the following elements:

 Carbon Hydrogen
 Oxygen Nitrogen
NUCLEIC ACIDS
 Also called as POLYNUCLEOTIDES

 Large molecules used by living

organisms for the storage and
transmission of genetic information.

 Contain information that cells

use to make proteins

 Made of:
 Carbon Oxygen
 Hydrogen Nitrogen
 Phosphorus
NUCLEOTIDES
 Monomers of nuclei acids

 Made up of three
components:
 A nitrogen-containing
base
 A five-carbon sugar
 Phosphate group
CLASSIFICATION OF NUCLEIC ACIDS
 LIPIDS
• A class of biological molecules
defined by low solubility in water

• The word lipid is derived from a

greek word “lipos” which means FAT

• Contain 3 elements:
Carbon (C)
Hydrogen (H)
Oxygen (O)
BUILDING
BLOCKS OF
LIPIDS