Water

H2O
The solvent of Life

Where there is water, there is life

Fig 1: Structure of Water

 Introduction
• Water makes up more than 70% of the material of living organisms
• Covers more than 75% of Earth’s surface.
• It is the medium in which most cells are constantly bathed and the
major component of cells themselves.
• Not only do most biochemical reactions occur in water, but water
itself participates in many biochemical reactions.
• All aspects of cell structure and function are adapted to the physical
and chemical properties of water.
• The strong attractive forces between water molecules result in
water’s solvent properties.
• The water molecule and its ionization products (H+ and OH-) greatly
influence the structure, assemblage and properties of all the cellular
components,including enzymes and other proteins, nucleic acids and
lipids.
• Water is needed not only for biochemical reactions, but also for transporting
substances, across membranes, maintaining body temperature, dissolving waste
IMPORTANCE OF
• Water is tasteless, odorless, and transparent. In small quantities, it is also
colorless. However, when a large amount of water is observed, as in a lake
or the ocean, it is actually light blue in color. The blue color of water is an
intrinsic property and is caused by selective absorption and scattering
of white ligth
• The chemical reactions of all living things take place in an aqueous
environment.
• Water has several properties that make it one of the most important
compounds found in living things.
POLARITY
• 1. Many of water's biological functions stem from its chemical structure.
• 2. In the water molecule, H2O, the hydrogen and oxygen atoms share
electrons to form a covalent bond, but these atoms do not share the
electrons equally.
• 3. The oxygen atom, because of its 8 protons and hydrogen's single proton,
pulls the shared electrons towards its nucleus and away from the
hydrogen atom. As a result, the electrical charge is unevenly distributed in
the water molecule.
FIg2 : Bond polarities in different molecules
• 4. Although the total electrical charge on a water molecule
is zero, the region of the molecule where the oxygen atom
is located has a slight negative charge (2δ-),
- while region of molecule where each of the two
hydrogen atoms are located each have a slight positive
charge (δ+).
• 5. Because of this uneven pattern of charge, water is a
polar molecule. All molecules with an uneven charge like
this are polar molecules.
• 6. It is this that makes water such a good solvent of other
polar molecules - such as salts, sugars and proteins.
• 7. An ionic compound dissolved in water tends to
dissociate into ions. This breaking up of an ionic compound
means the ions can participate in many biological reactions.
Fig 3 : Hydrogen bond in Water
 HYDROGEN BONDING
• 1. The polar nature of water also causes water
molecules to be attracted to one another or stick
together.
• 2. This attraction between water molecules is caused
by hydrogen bonding.
• 3. A positive region of one water molecule is attracted
to the negative region of another water molecule.
• 4. Hydrogen bonds are weak bonds that can be easily
broken – particularly if bent (e.g. DNA replication).
• 5. Hydrogen bonds can also be formed between
hydrogen and nitrogen atoms (only).
• 6. The hydrogen bonds in water exert a significant attractive
force, causing water to cling to itself (Cohesion) and to other
surfaces (Adhesion).
• 7. Together, adhesion and cohesion enable water molecules
to move upwards through narrow tubes against the force of
gravity - a property of water known as capillarity.
• 8. Water moves up a plant stem through cohesion-tension
in the xylem – only possible because of the hydrogen bonds.
• 9. Water must gain or lose a large amount of energy for its
temperature to change – which makes it a stable
environment to live in (homeostasis).
• 10. Water's ability to absorb large amounts of energy (= high
specific heat capacity) helps to keep cells at an even
temperature despite changes to the external temperature.
 Water as the universal solvent
• Most biological activities occur in aqueous (water based)
solutions.
• Water is able to dissolve small non polar covalent
molecules, ionic compounds, and other polar
covalent molecules
• Water soluble molecules are described as
hydrophilic (water loving). Hydrophilic molecules
dissolve in water.
• Those molecules that are not soluble in water
are hydrophobic (water hating or fearing).
Hydrophobic molecules – repel water.
• Amphipathic molecules -have both hydrophilic
and hydrophobic properties
• Solution – a mixture of one or more substances called solutes,
dispersed in a dissolving medium called a solvent

Fig4 : Structure of NaCl in solution

 Non-polar substances are insoluble in water

Many lipids are amphipathic

Fig 5 : Structure lipids
 Water dissolves polar compounds

Fig 6: Solvation of NaCl in H2O molecules

 Solvation and Hydration shells
• Depending on the pH of a solution, macromolecules such as
proteins which contain many charged groups, will carry substantial net
charge, either positive or negative.
• Cells of the body and blood contain many polyelectrolytes (molecules
that contain multiple same charges, e.g. DNA and RNA) and
polyampholytes that are in close proximity.
• The close association allows these molecules to interact through
opposing charged groups
• The presence, in cells and blood, of numerous small charged ions (e.g.
Na +,Cl -,Mg 2+,Mn 2+,K +) leads to the interaction of many small ions with
the larger macroions.
• the presence of small ions is to maintain the solubility of
macromolecules at certain pH ranges
• This interaction between solute (e.g. proteins, DNA,
• RNA, etc.) and solvent (e.g. blood) is termed solvation
or hydration
 WATER IS AN EXCELLENT NUCLEOPHILE
• Metabolic reactions often involve the attack by lone pairs of
electrons on electron-rich molecules termed nucleophiles on
electron-poor atoms called electrophiles.
• Nucleophiles and electrophiles do not necessarily possess a
formal negative or positive charge.
• Other nucleophiles of biologic importance include the oxygen
atoms of phosphates, alcohols, and carboxylic acids; the sulfur
of thiols; the nitrogen of amines; and the imidazole ring of
histidine. Common electrophiles include the carbonyl carbons
in amides, esters, aldehydes, and
ketones and the phosphorus atoms of phosphoesters.
• Nucleophilic attack by water generally results in the cleavage
of the amide, glycoside,or ester bonds that hold biopolymers
together. This process is termed hydrolysis.
 IONIZATION OF WATER
• The ability of water to ionize, while slight, is of central
importance for life. Since water can act both as an acid and
as a base, its ionization may be represented as an
intermolecular proton transfer that forms a hydronium
ion (H3O+) and a hydroxide ion (OH-):

The equilibrium constant Keq for the dissociation of water is

given by:

Kw, the ion constant of water, is given by:

This can be simplified to:

• Kw=Keq[H2O] = [H+] [OH-]
[H+] [OH-]=1 .00 x 10-14 (mol/L)2
• Thus, the product [H +] [OH -] in aqueous solutions at 25°C always
equals 1 × 10-14M 2. When there are exactly equal concentrations of
both H+ and OH -, as in pure water, the solution is said to be
at neutral pH. At this pH, the concentration of H + and OH - can be
calculated from the ion product of water as follows :
Kw = [H+] [OH-] = [H+]2
Solving for [H+] gives : [H+]2 = √Kw = √1×10 -14M2
• [H+] = [OH-] = 10-7M.
• The ion product of water, Kw, is the basis for the pH scale . It is a
convenient means of designating the actual concentration of H -
(and thus of OH +) in any aqueous solution in the range between
1.0M H+ and 1.0M OH–
• Biochemical reactions are often defined in terms of hydrogen ion
[H+] concentrations.
Acids and Bases