The Chemical Building Blocks

of Life
Chapter 3
Carbohydrates and Proteins
Nucleic Acids and Lipids
What are Functional Groups?
• Certain groups of atoms
in macromolecules that
determine their
chemical functions
More Functional Groups

Disulfide bridge = covalent bond that forms

between the sulfur atoms of two cysteines
 What are Carbohydrates Made of?

• Two monosaccharides form a disaccharide

• Many monosaccharides form a polysaccharide

(e.g., starch)
 What are Proteins Made of?

• Two amino acids form a dipeptide

• Many amino acids form a polypeptide

• Some proteins are made of just one polypeptide chain

(e.g., myoglobin), while others are made of two or more
 What are DNA and RNA Made of?

• Two nucleotides form a dinucleotide

• Many nucleotides form a polynucleotide (e.g., DNA

and RNA)
What are Lipids Made of?

Carboxyl group

Hydrocarbon chain = stretch of C and H atoms

How to Make a Polymer?
How to Break Apart a Polymer?
Monomers of Carbohydrates
 Monomers of Carbohydrates

• Isomers = compounds that are composed of the

same number of the same types of atoms, but
these atoms are arranged differently in space
How Disaccharides Form?

Lactose = glucose + galactose

 Some Important Polysaccharides
Starches = energy storage molecules
in plants

= energy storage molecule

in animals
 Some “Tough” Polysaccharides

• Chitin provides structural

support in animals
(arthropods) and fungi

• Cellulose = structural
component of plant
cell walls
18
Monomers of DNA and RNA
 Different Nitrogenous Bases

• Both DNA and RNA have adenine (A), guanine (G),

and cytosine (C)
Four Different DNA Nucleotides

21
Four Different RNA Nucleotides

22
Which One of These Four Structures is
Deoxyguanosine Monophosphate?

A B

C D
23
The Structure of DNA
DNA vs. RNA
 DNA RNA

Type of Sugar Deoxyribose Ribose

Number of Double Stranded Single Stranded

Strands (Double Helix) (Single Helix)

Adenine (A), Cytosine Adenine (A),

Nitrogenous (C), Guanine (G), and Cytosine (C),
Bases Thymine (T) Guanine (G), and
Uracil (U)

Bonds Phosphodiester and Phosphodiester

Hydrogen Bonds Bonds
 Another Important Nucleotide

• ATP (adenosine triphosphate) = energy currency of

the cell
Why are Proteins Important?
Other Functions of Proteins
 What are Proteins Made of?

Radical group

N terminus C terminus
Linking of Amino Acids

Peptide bond
Special Amino Acids
Nonpolar Amino Acids
Polar Amino Acids
Charged (Ionizable) Amino Acids
 Some Important Facts about Proteins
• Amino acid sequence causes polypeptide to assume a
particular shape

• Shape of protein determines its specific function

• Protein’s shape depends on three/four levels of

structure:

- primary structure

- secondary structure

- tertiary structure

- quaternary structure
 Folding of Polypeptides

= sequence of amino acids joined by peptide bonds

 The Final Stages of Folding

• Tertiary structure = the overall three-

dimensional shape of a polypeptide
Bonds That Make Polypeptides to Fold
 The Final Stages of Folding

• Quaternary structure = arrangement of

of two or more polypeptide chains (subunits) in
space 40
 Importance of Chaperons

• Proteins that help other proteins fold correctly

- many are HSP (heat shock proteins)

Denaturation vs. Dissociation
Lipids Don’t Like Water
 Fats (Triglycerides)
• Composed of 1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids
 Cis Fats vs. Trans Fats

• Cis fats have H atoms

present on one side of
the double bond

• Trans fats have H atoms

present on opposite sides
of the double bond

45
 Steroids: Cholesterol
• Found in animal cell membranes

• Makes cell
membrane less
permeable to
water-soluble
molecules

- LDL (low-density lipoprotein or “bad cholesterol”)

- HDL (high-density lipoprotein or “good

cholesterol”)
 Steroids: Sex Hormones

• Testosterone – male sex

hormone

• Estrogen – female sex

hormone
 Phospholipids
• Form all biological membranes
 Micelles and Lipid Bilayers

• Micelles = monolayered structures

that form by adding detergents
(lipid-like molecules) to
water

• Phospholipid bilayer = more complicated structure where

2 layers form
- hydrophilic heads
point outward
- hydrophobic tails
point inward
toward each other