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TOPIC II: CHEMICAL LEVEL OF ORGANIZATION

knowledge of basic chemistry needed for understanding
- anatomy and physiology
- difference between healthy and diseased person
A) Structure of an atom
Nucleus contains: ?
Orbiting the nucleus:
electrons (e-) - negative charge
Atoms are electrically neutral
# of electrons = # of protons (# of neutrons may not be equal to
these)
B) Ions
- if an atom loses or gains an electron, it is no longer neutral and becomes an
ion
- atom gains e- (s): becomes a negative ion (anion)
- atom loses e- (s): becomes a positive ion (cation)
Important ions (electrolytes) =
Calcium: Ca++
Sodium: Na+
Potassium: K+
Hydrogen: H+
Chloride: ClC) Chemical bonds
- bond (hold) atoms together to form molecules
Types of Bonds:
1) ionic bond (ions formed) atom to atom transfer of ee.g. NaCl
Na loses e- = Na+
Cl gains e- = Cl the positive (Na+) and negative (Cl-) ions attract, forming the bond
-

Cl

in H2O, NaCl dissociates (dissolves/separates/ionizes) into ions: Na +,

2) covalent bond
- sharing e- between atoms
e.g. CH4
These chemical bonds allow the formation of chemical compounds that may
be organic or inorganic
a) organic substances
- covalently bonded carbon (C) atoms
e.g. carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids
b) inorganic Substances
- usually lack C
e.g. water (H2O), NaCl, O2
- with the exception of these inorganic compounds which contain
C atoms:
-

H2CO3 (carbonic acid)

HCO3- (bicarbonate)
CO2 (carbon dioxide)
CO (carbon monoxide)

D) Water (inorganic)
- most abundant substance in cells
- 2 hydrogen atoms (H) + 1 oxygen (O)
- polar molecules: unequal sharing of e- leads to a slight charge
difference
- many reactions in body take place in or involve H2O
- transports chemicals e.g. O2, nutrients
- maintains body temperature at 37C
E) Acids and Bases
May be organic OR inorganic
1) Acids - dissociate in H2O, releasing H+
[H+] = pH
e.g. hydrochloric acid (HCl) in H2O
2) Bases
- substances that bind free H+ in H2O
[H+] = pH

H+ + Cl-

e.g. 1) NaOH in H2O Na+ + OH- (hydroxyl ion)

then OH- (base) + H+ H2O
e.g. 2) HCO3- (bicarbonate; base) + H+ H2CO3 (carbonic acid)
OH- and HCO3- act as bases by binding to the free H+ ions
3) pH scale
- concentration of free H+ in solution
- basic acidic: [H+]
0 7.0 14
acidic
basic (= alkaline)
e.g. pH of blood = 7.35 - 7.45
F) Important Organic Substances:
1) Carbohydrates consist of C, H, O
Formula: C(H2O)n (n = #)
Functions:
- source of energy for cells e.g. glucose (C6H12O6)
- cellular structures e.g. DNA + RNA
a) monosaccharides
- simple sugars
e.g. glucose, fructose, ribose, deoxyribose
- basic building blocks of other carbohydrates (CHO)
b) disaccharides
- 2 monosaccharides covalently bonded together
e.g. glucose + fructose sucrose
c) polysaccharides
- many monosaccharides (basic building blocks) bonded together
e.g. glycogen (animals), starch (plants)
2) Lipids
- C, H, O (ratio different from carbohydrates)
- e.g. fats, oils, waxes, cholesterol, fatty acids (FA)

- insoluble (nonpolar) in water

Functions:
a) protect organs (padding)
b) component of cell membranes
c) source of stored energy
Types:
a) Glycerides
- most common lipid in body, diet
- composed of 2 building blocks
i) glycerol (backbone)
ii) fatty acids (FAs)
Naming:
- glycerol + 1 FA = monoglyceride
- glycerol + 2 FAs = diglyceride
- glycerol + 3 FAs = triglyceride
b) Phospholipids
3 building blocks:
i) phosphate head group polar
- hydrophilic (water soluble)
ii) glycerol backbone
and
iii)2 FA tails - non-polar
- hydrophobic (water insoluble)
c) cholesterol found in cell membranes and used to synthesize steroids
d) steroids
- derived from cholesterol
e.g. bile salts, hormones (vitamin D, testosterone, estrogen etc)
3) Proteins - C, H, O, N (also sometimes S)
e.g. albumin
Functions:
a) structural materials
e.g. collagen
b) enzymes, hormones, transporters
c) antibodies

Structures:
i) amino acids (aa)
- basic building blocks of all proteins
ii) dipeptides - 2 aa
iii) polypeptides - many aa
iv) protein - 1 or more polypeptides, folded in the final shape
4) Nucleic Acids consists of C, H, O, N, P
2 forms:
a) DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
b) RNA (ribonucleic acid)
- building blocks called nucleotides
Each nucleotide contains
- PO4- (phosphate)
- monosaccharide (simple sugar)
- ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA
- an organic base
i) adenine (A)
ii) thymine (T) DNA only
iii) uracil (U) RNA only
iv) cytosine (C)
v) guanine (G)
Sturcture:
a) DNA
PO4 - deoxyribose A, T, C or G
Bases bind to form a double-stranded helix (twisted ladder)
A to T
G to C
Alternating sugar and phosphate form uprights
Bases form rungs
Functions:
cellular reproduction
used as a template to make RNA
b) RNA PO4 - ribose - A, U, C, or G

- single stranded
A to U
G to C
Function:
protein synthesis
5) ATP - adenosine triphosphate
- energy stored in covalent bonds powers cellular activities
Structure:
3 PO4 + ribose + adenine
(modified RNA nucleotide)
In figure 2.22
~ = high energy bond
Breaking bond releases immediately usable energy
ATP

ADP
+
Adenosine diphosphate

Pi
inorganic phosphate