BIOMOLECULES

Biomolecules are natural polymers. These have a wide range of sizes and
structures and perform a vast array of functions especially for living organisms. The four
major types of biomolecules are carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates are compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They
are also known as saccharides. They have the general formula Cx(H2O)y. Carbohydrates
function as the energy source of the body. A simple general classification of
carbohydrates is according to the number of sugar units (saccharides) present in the
molecule: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharide
A monosaccharide, the monomer of carbohydrates, is a single sugar molecule
usually found in fruits. It is quite soluble and sweet to taste. The table below shows
examples of monosaccharides.

MONOSACCHARIDE FORMULA STRUCTURE SOURCES

Glucose C6H12O6 fruits

fruits
Fructose C6H12O6
honey

Galactose C6H12O6 not naturally occurring

Disaccharide
When two monosaccharides join together through a condensation reaction, a
disaccharide is produced along with a molecule of water. The most common types of
disaccharides are sucrose, maltose, and lactose. These are soluble and sweet to taste.
The type of disaccharide formed depends on the monosaccharides involved in the
condensation reaction.
The reactions are condensation (dehydration) reactions shown below. The bond
formed during this reaction is called glycosidic bond.

Monosaccharide during Condensation

Disaccharide Product
Reaction

H2O
Glucose Glucose Maltose

O
H2O

Glucose Fructose Sucrose

+
O
H2O

Glucose Galactose
Lactose

When two glucose units react via condensation reaction, the disaccharide, maltose, is
formed.
Glu + Glu → Glu—O—Glu +H2O
Maltose
When glucose and fructose are joined, sucrose (table sugar) is formed.
Glu + Fru → Glu—O—Fru +H2O
Sucrose
When glucose and galactose are joined, lactose (milk sugar) is formed.
Glu + Gal → Glu—O—Gal +H2O
Lactose

DISACCHARIDE FORMULA SOURCES

Maltose C12H22O11 germinating grain

sugar cane
Sucrose C12H22O11
sugar beet
Lactose C12H22O11 milk

Polysaccharide
Polysaccharides are polymers of monosaccharides. Examples of
polysaccharides are starch, glycogen, and cellulose which are all polymers of glucose.
Three examples of polysaccharides are given below.

Starch
Cellulose Glycogen
Amylose Amylopectin

SOURCE Plant Plant Plant Animal

SUBUNIT β-glucose α-glucose α-glucose α-glucose

Yes (~per 20 Yes (~per 10

BRANCHES No No
subunits) subunits)

DIAGRAM

Starch is found in plants and used as source of energy. Starch consists of two
types of glucose polymers: amylose and amylopectin which differ from each other in
structure. Amylose which consists of about 20% of all starch polymers has the simpler
structure.
The diagram shown may be represented more simply by
Glu – (OGlu)n – OH
where n is very large (about 1000 glucose units linked together by oxygen bridges). The
long chains of starch are tightly wound in a coil. When amylose reacts with water through
hydrolysis, these oxygen bridges break releasing glucose units.
Most of starch is made up of amylopectin, the molecules of which are even larger
than amylose. Unlike the more linear amylose, the amylopectin molecule consists of
amylose molecules that are linked by oxygen bridges from the end of one amylose unit
to a site in another amylose chain.
Starch is not found in animals. Instead, animals use glycogen for energy storage.
Glycogen has shorter chains than starch and is more highly branched. Because of the
shorter chains and branching, glycogen is more readily hydrolyzed than starch.
Like amylose, cellulose is a straight chain polymer consisting of glucose units.
However, in cellulose, the glycosidic links between the glucose units in cellulose alternate
in direction. This produces a long, straight and rigid molecule. There is no branching in
cellulose. Cellulose the major structural material which plants are made of. Wood is
largely cellulose. Humans cannot digest cellulose but animals can.
PROTEINS
Proteins are natural polymers. They are very large molecules that are critical for
the functions of the human body. They are made from the linkage of monomers called
amino acids. Amino acids have the following structure:

An amino acid contains C, H, O, and N atoms. ‘R’ is the alkyl

group. Notice that amino acids have two functional groups –
carboxylic group and amine group.

There are 20 kinds of amino acids depending on the —R group. The simplest
amino acid is glycine where R is a hydrogen atom. The body cannot make all the amino
acids required by the body and is dependent on protein taken through food.
Two amino acids can link together through a condensation reaction with the
removal of a water molecule. The linkage is called a peptide bond. Take the case of two
amino acids reacting to form a dipeptide.

+ → + H2O

When many amino acids are linked together through peptide bonds, the resulting
molecule is called a polypeptide. A very large number of amino acids linked together
results in a protein. Some proteins are made up of only one polypeptide while most
proteins involve assemblies of two or more polypeptides. The term polypeptide is usually
used for shorter, unstructured chains while proteins fold into fixed structures.
 You can think of a protein as a strong of beads strung together where each bead
is an amino acid.
____
Amino acid subunits

Different Levels of Protein Structure

The sequence and the structure of proteins are important in determining their
functions. There are four levels of protein structures: the primary structure, secondary
structure, tertiary structure, and quaternary structure.
The primary structure refers to the linear sequence of amino acids joined by
peptide bonds such as the sequence of amino acids below.
The single bonds in the polypeptide chain allow rotation. Therefore, the
polypeptide chain can twist and fold in a variety of ways. These folded structures are
referred to as secondary protein structures.
The two essential secondary structures are the alpha helix and the beta pleated
sheets. The structures are stabilized by hydrogen bonds between amino acids. In the
alpha-helix structure, the chain twists like a corkscrew while the chain takes the form of a
folded sheet in the beta pleated structure. Several secondary structures come together
forming tertiary structures. When several tertiary structures come together, a quaternary
protein structure is formed. For example, the protein hemoglobin is a quaternary structure
formed by four tertiary structures.

PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY TERNARY

STRUCTURE STRUCTURE STRUCTURE STRUCTURE

α helix

β sheet
sequence of a chain amino acids fold side chain reactions protein consisting of
of amino acids into a repeating causes the protein more than one
pattern due to the to fold in a three- amino acid chain
hydrogen bonding dimensional pattern
of the peptide
backbone
Protein Functions
Proteins are important molecules in cell. Each protein in the body has a specific
function. Some of the types of proteins and their functions are:
a. Antibodies – proteins molecules of the immune system that are involved in
defending the body against antigens
b. Contractile proteins – responsible for body movement such as muscle
contraction
c. Enzymes – proteins that catalyze (speed up) or facilitate biochemical reactions
d. Hormonal proteins – serve as messenger proteins to help coordinate some
body functions. Insulin, for example, is a hormonal protein that controls blood
sugar concentration.
e. Structural proteins – are fibrous and provide support. An example is collagen
(which provides support to connective tissues).
f. Storage proteins – store amino acids like casein in milk.
g. Transport proteins – are carrier proteins which move molecules from one
place to another in the body. Hemoglobin, for example, transports oxygen.

NUCLEIC ACID
Nucleic acids are natural polymers with very large molar masses. These
macromolecules contain C, H, O, N, and P atoms. The two main types of nucleic acids
are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). DNA and RNA are polymers
made up of monomers called nucleotides. When these nucleotides combine, they form
polynucleotides.
Each nucleotide is made up of three parts:
1. A nitrogen base
a. Purines - adenine (A), and guanine (G)
b. Pyrimidines - cytosine (C), thymine (T), uracil (U)
2. A five-carbon sugar
a. Deoxyribose
b. Ribose
3. Phosphate group
Features of DNA and RNA

DNA RNA

Function Repository of genetic material Involved in protein synthesis

Structure Double helix Usually single-strand
Sugar used deoxyribose ribose
Bases used G, C, A, T G, C, A, U
LIPIDS
Lipids are a class of naturally occurring organic compounds distinguished by their
solubility in an organic solvent (and not in water). These macromolecules are made up of
C, H, and O atoms. Lipids are hydrophobic and nonpolar. Some of the more important
lipids are: triglycerides (fats), saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, waxes,
phospholipids, and steroids.
Fatty Acids
Fatty acids consist of a long hydrocarbon chain (typically about 12 – 18 carbons)
attached to a carboxyl group.
i. Saturated fatty acid – contains only single C-C bonds because the carbon
atoms are saturated or filled up with hydrogens. Because their structure is
straight, they can pack well and are solid at room temperature (e.g. fat in
butter).

ii. Unsaturated fatty acids – contain carbon-carbon double bonds. When

there is only one C-C double bond, it is called monounsaturated; if there
are several C-C double bonds, they are called polyunsaturated. Because
of the double bonds, they do not pack as tightly as saturated fatty acids and
are usually liquids at room temperature. An example of an unsaturated fatty
acid is olive oil.

Fats and Oils

Fat molecules have two parts: a glycerol backbone and three fatty acid chains. The
resulting molecule is called a triglyceride.

+ 3 → + 3H2O

Glycerol 3 fatty acids triglyceride 3 water molecule