Chapter 4 : Molecules of life

FOCUS:
The organic molecules of cells:
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Protein
Nucleic acids

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 Polymer and Monomer
A polymer is a long molecule consisting of
many similar or identical building blocks linked
by covalent bonds.
The repeating units that serve as the building
blocks of a polymer are smaller molecules
called monomers.

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 Hydrolysis and dehydration reaction
Hydrolysis means to break using water. The
bond between the monomers is broken by
addition of a water molecule, with hydrogen (-
H) from the water molecule attached to one
monomer while hydroxyl group (-OH) attached
to the adjacent monomer.
Dehydration is the bonding between
monomers through covalent bond, with the
loss of water. One monomer provides a
hydroxyl group (-OH) while the other provides
a hydrogen (-H).
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 The molecules of Life
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids
are the main biological molecules that only
living cells can assemble under conditions that
now occur in nature.
Cells assemble, rearrange and degrade organic
compounds mainly through enzyme-mediated
reactions such as transfer of functional groups or
electrons, rearrangement of internal bonds and
combining or splitting of molecules.

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 Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates include both sugar and polymers
of sugar.
There are three forms of carbohydrate
categorized based on its complexity:
a. Monosaccharides, or simple sugar.
b. Disaccharides are double sugar formed by two
monosaccharides joined by a covalent bonds.
c. Polysaccharides are polymers composed of
many sugar building blocks.
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 Monosaccharides
Monosaccharides, the simplest form of sugar
has a general molecular formula of CnH2nOn.
Glucose (C6H12O6) is the most common type or
example of monosaccharide.
In the structure of glucose, the molecule has
two different types of functional groups;
carbonyl (C = O) and multiple hydroxyl groups (-
OH).

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The linear structure of glucose
Carboxyl group
(C=O)

Hydroxyl group
(-OH)
 Linear and ring forms
Chemical equilibrium favors the formations of
rings in glucose.
To form the ring, carbon 1 bonds to oxygen
attached to carbon 5.
 The function of Monosaccharides
The usage of monosaccharides includes:
a. Cell extract energy from glucose through cellular
respiration.
b. The carbon skeleton serve as raw material for
synthesizing other small organic molecules such
as amino acids and fatty acids.

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 Disaccharides
Disaccharides consists of two monosaccharides
joined by a glycosidic linkage, a covalent bond
formed by dehydration reaction.
For example, maltose is a disaccharides formed
by linking of two glucose molecules.

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Dehydration reaction in the synthesis of
maltose
 Disaccharides
Sucrose, which is the table sugar is formed by
monomers of glucose and fructose by
dehydration reaction.

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 The function of Disaccharides
The usage of disaccharides includes:
a. Maltose or malt sugar is used in brewing beer.
b. Sucrose is the form of carbohydrate that is
generally transported from leaves to other non-
photosynthetic organs.

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 Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides are macromolecules, polymer
with a few hundred to a few thousand
monosaccharides joined by glycosidic linkages.
Some of the different forms of polysaccharides
include:
a. Storage polysaccharides (i.e. starch and
glycogen).
b. Structural polysaccharides (i.e. cellulose).

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 Storage Polysaccharides
Plants store polysaccharides in the form of
starch.
The simplest form of starch, amylose which is
unbranched.
A more complex form of starch, amylopectin is
branched with 1 6 linkages at the branch point.

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Amylose and amylopectin
 Starch structures
Starch is a polymer formed by () alpha
glucose, joined by 1 4 glycosidic linkage.
All monomers are in the same orientation.
Starch molecules are largely helical.
 and glucose ring structures
 Storage Polysaccharides
Animal store polysaccharides in the form of
glycogen.
Glycogen is polymer of glucose and is extensively
branched.
Most of the glycogen is stored in liver and muscle
cells.

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Glycogen, an animal polysaccharide
 Structural Polysaccharides
Structural polysaccharides are major component
of tough walls that enclose plant cells.
Example of structural polysaccharide is cellulose
in plant.
Cellulose is a polymer joined by () beta glucose,
arranged in a upside down manner with respect
to its neighbours.
Cellulose molecules are always straight.

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Cellulose structures
Why cellulose is indigestible?

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 Why cellulose is indigestible?
Most animals do not possesses enzymes that can hydrolyze
linkages of cellulose

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 Lipids
Lipids are not true polymers.
They are generally not big enough to be
considered as macromolecules.
They mix poorly with water.
There are three important types of lipid:
a. Fats
b. Phospholipid
c. Steroids

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 Fats
Fats are not polymers, they are large molecules
assembled from smaller molecules by
dehydration reactions.
A fat or triglyceride is constructed by one
molecule of glycerol and three molecules of fatty
acids.

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 Fatty acid
Fatty acid comprises a long carbon skeleton (16 to
18 carbon atoms), at one end of the carbon
skeleton is a part of carboxyl group (-COOH). The
rest of skeleton consists of hydrocarbon chain. This
hydrocarbon (C H) of fatty acid is relatively non-
polar, and is said to be hydrophobic.
 Glycerol
Glycerol is an alcohol. Each of its three carbon
bears a hydroxyl group (- OH).

Hydroxyl group
(-OH)

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 Fats
A fat or triglyceride is constructed by one
molecule of glycerol and three molecules of fatty
acids.
Three fatty acids and a glycerol is joined by an
ester linkage, a bond between hydroxyl group (-
OH) and carboxyl group (- COOH).

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Fats or triglycerides
 Saturated and Unsaturated fats
In the context of nutrition, fats could be
categorize as saturated fats and unsaturated
fats.
Saturated fatty acid has no double bond in the
carbon skeleton.
Unsaturated fatty acid has one or more double
bonds in the carbon skeleton.

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Saturated and Unsaturated fats
 Unsaturated fats
In unsaturated fatty acid structure, the double
bonds located at the fatty acids hydrocarbons
skeleton chain causes a sharp twist or curve on
the structure, preventing the molecules from
packing together closely enough to solidify at
room temperature.
sharp twist or curve
 The function of fats
The usage of fats includes:
a. Omega-3 fatty acids required for normal
growth in children and appear to protect
against cardiovascular disease in adults.
b. As energy storage, the hydrocarbon chains of
fats is rich in energy.

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 Phospholipids
Phospholipids are an important component of
cell as they make up of the cell membrane.
The structure of a phospholipid comprises of
one molecule of glycerol joined with two
molecules of fatty acids. The third hydroxyl
group of glycerol is joined with a phosphate
group, which has a negative electric charge in
the cell.

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Phospholipids
 Behaviour of Phospholipids
The two ends of phospholipids show different
behaviour towards water.
The tails are hydrophobic (repel water) and head
is hydrophilic, has the affinity for water.
When phospholipids are added to water, they
self assemble into double-layered structures
called bilayers, shielding their hydrophobic
portions from water.

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Bilayer structure formed by self-assembly of
phospholipids in an aqueous environment
 Steroids
The structure of steroid comprises four carbon
skeleton rings fused together.
Examples of steroid are cholesterol and
vertebrate sex hormones.
Cholesterol is a common component of animal
cell membranes and also serve as a precursor to
synthesize other type of steroid.

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Cholesterol, a steroid
 Protein
Proteins account for more than 50% of dry
mass of most cells.
Some of the functions of protein include:
a. Speed up chemical reactions.
b. Defense
c. Storage
d. Transport
e. Cellular communication
f. Movement
g. Structural support
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 Amino acids
Amino acid is the simplest form of protein.
Amino acid is an organic molecule possessing
both amino group (- NH2), carboxyl group (-
COOH), a hydrogen atom and a variable group
symbolized by R.
The R group or side chain differ with each amino
acid. The side chain could be as simple as a
hydrogen atom (as in glycine) or with various
functional group (as in glutamine).

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 Amino acids
Amino acids are grouped according to the
properties of side chain (R-group):
a. Non-polar side chain which is hydrophobic.
b. Polar side chain which is hydrophilic.
c. Carboxyl side chain which is generally negative
in charge categorize as acidic amino acids.
d. Amino side chain which is generally positive in
charge categorize as basic amino acids.

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 Making a Polypeptide chain
Polypeptides are polymers of amino acids.
Polypeptides are formed when two amino acids
are positioned so that the carboxyl group (-
COOH) of one is adjacent to the amino group (-
HN2) of the other, followed by a dehydration
reaction (removal of water molecule) and joined
by a covalent bond called peptide bond.

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Making a polypeptide chain
 The four level of protein structure
All proteins share four different levels of
structure known as primary, secondary, tertiary
and quaternary.
Quaternary structure consists of two or more
polypeptide chains associate together.
The primary structure of a protein is a linked
series of amino acids.

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 Secondary structure
Secondary structure is referring to segments of
polypeptide chain repeatedly coiled and folded.
Secondary structures are hold by hydrogen
bonds between repeating constituents of
polypeptide backbone (not the amino acid
side chain).
There are two different secondary structures of
polypeptide:
a. helix
b. pleated sheet
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 helix
This structure is a coil held together by hydrogen
bonding between every fourth amino acid.
Example of structure having helix type of
polypeptide is hair keratin.

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 pleated sheet
This structure has two or more strands of
polypeptide chain lying side by side (called
strands) and are connected by hydrogen bonds
between two parallel polypeptide backbones.

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 Tertiary structure
Tertiary structure is the overall shape of polypeptide
resulting from interactions between side chains
(R groups).
Many types of bonds could occur to stabilize the
tertiary structure of polypeptides. This includes:
a. Hydrogen bonds (interaction between polar side
chain).
b. Ionic bonding (interaction between positively and
negatively charged side chain).
c. Disulfide bridges (interaction between sulfurs of
two cysteine amino acids forming a disulfide
bridge, -S-S-).
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Bonds between polypeptide side chains (R-
group) in tertiary structure
 Quaternary structure
Quaternary structure is the overall protein
structure results from aggregation of
polypeptide subunits.
For example hemoglobin in red blood cells, is
made up of two subunits and two subunits.
Each subunit has a nonpolypeptide component
called heme with an iron atom that binds
oxygen.

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Hemoglobin, a quaternary structure of
polypeptide
 Protein structure
Polypeptide chain after being synthesize usually
will fold spontaneously.
Polypeptide chain that folds into a rough
spherical is called globular proteins.
Polypeptide chain that remain as a long fiber is
called fibrous proteins.

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