CHEMICAL FOUNDATIONS

The life of a cell depends on thousands

of chemical interactions and reactions
exquisitely coordinated with one
another in time and space and under
the influence of the cell’s genetic
instructions and its environment.
•How does a cell extract critical nutrients and
information from its environment?
•How does a cell convert the energy stored in
nutrients into work (movement, synthesis of
critical components)?
• How does a cell transform nutrients into the
fundamental structures required for its survival
(cell wall, nucleus, nucleic acids, proteins,
cytoskeleton)?
•How does a cell link itself to other cells to form a
tissue?
•How do cells communicate with one another so
that the organism as a whole can function?
One of the goals of molecular cell
biology =

to answer such questions about the

structure and function of cells and
organisms in terms of the properties of
individual molecules and ions
 _________ Bonds
Covalent Bonds: Involve the sharing of a pair of electrons between two atoms.

Found mainly … organic compounds

Relative energies of covalent bonds and noncovalent
interactions.
 _______ Bonds
Involves transfer of electrons between two atoms

Found mainly … inorganic compounds.

Sodium Chloride
Potassium & Iodine

One sodium atom and 1 chlorine atom form a

chemical compound called sodium chloride.
Since opposite charges attract, the ions in
sodium chloride are held together by the
attraction between Na+ and Cl -.

IONS & IONIC BONDS

Hydrogen Bonding
Approximate Chemical Compositions of E.
coli and mammalian cells
WATER – UNIVERSAL SOLVENT
The dipole nature of a water molecule
Electrostatic interaction between water and
a magnesium ion (Mg2).
CHEMICAL BUILDING BLOCKS
Structural hierarchy in the molecular organization of cells
MACROMOLECULAR ASSEMBLIES
Amazing Carbon
Carbon is unique in many ways:

The atoms can bond with each other to form long

chains.

Sometimes the ends of these chains join together to

form a ring.

C has _____ available sites for bonding in its valence

shell, so it can form ______ single bonds.

Double bonds form when two atoms share two pairs

of electrons (two covalent bonds).

Images :www.phy.cuhk.edu.hk/.../laser/laser_e.html
 Organic Molecules - Carbohydrates
Monosaccharides
• _________ sugars (one molecule)
• simplest
• *glucose, fructose

Disaccharides
• ________ sugars
• combination of two monosaccharides
• *_________ = glucose + fructose
• *_________ = glucose + galactose

Polysaccharides
• ____________ composed of several sugars
• can be same monomer (many of same monosaccharide) or mixture of monomers
• _____________ carbohydrates: glycogen (animals) starch (plants)

• _____________ carbs: chitin (animals), cellulose (plants)

 Organic Molecules – Lipids
(Fats, Phospholipids, Waxes & Steroids)

Hydrophobic…insoluble in water.

Not attracted to water because …

non-polar covalent bonds linking carbon & hydrogen aren’t attracted to the polar
bonds of water.

Images:
Phospholipid bilayer, BensAccountWiki

BeeWithHoneycomb : www.agr.state.il.us/.../bee_with_honeycomb.jpg
 Organic Molecules – Lipids
(Fats, Phospholipids, Waxes & Steroids)

Fats
Fats and oils are made from
two kinds of molecules:
• ____________
(a type of alcohol)

• _____________

(triglycerides)
 Organic Molecules – Lipids
(Fats, Phospholipids, Waxes & Steroids)
Saturated fats
• Mostly from animal sources

• Single bonds between the carbons in their

fatty acid tails (all carbons are bonded to
max number of hydrogens possible).

• Hydrocarbon chains fairly straight and

packed closely together … so ______at
room temperature.

Unsaturated fats (oils)

• Mostly from plant sources

• Have double bonds between some carbons

in the hydrocarbon tail, causing bends or
“kinks” in shape.

• Kinks in hydrocarbon tails, so unsaturated

fats can’t pack closely together … ________
at room temp.

Image:
biology.clc.uc.edu/Courses/bio104/lipids.htm
 Organic Molecules – Lipids
(Fats, Phospholipids, Waxes & Steroids)

Phospholipids
• Hydrocarbon tails ___________, but
phosphate group end are
_____________.

• So phospholipids are soluble in both

water and oil.

• Tails from both layers facing inward

and the heads facing outward =
_________________.

Images:
Phospholipid Bilayer: BensAccount Wiki

CellMembrane: NIST Center for Neutron Research

Three structures formed by phospholipids in aqueous solutions
 Organic Molecules – Lipids
(Fats, Phospholipids, Waxes & Steroids)
Waxes
• Do not have a hydrophilic head: so
completely water insoluble.

Steroids
• The central core of a cholesterol
molecule (4 fused rings) is shared by all
steroids,

• Cholesterol is precursor to our ____

hormones and Vitamin ___.

• Our cell membranes contain

cholesterol (in between the
phospholipids) to help keep membrane
“fluid” even when exposed to cooler
temperatures.

Images:
Lansterol : Mysid Wiki
Lipid Bylayer Cholesterol: cellbio.utmb.edu/cellbio/membrane_intro.htm
FLUID MOSAIC MODEL OF THE
CELL MEMBRANE