FORCES OF INTERACTIONS AROUND US...

IS VAN DER WAALS INTERACTION STILL WEAK COLLECTIVELY?

 Although any single van der Waals interaction is weak, a large number of van der
Waals interactions creates a strong force.
 For example, geckos stick to walls and ceilings by van der Waals interactions of the
surfaces with the 500,000 tiny hairs on each foot.
 HOW STRONG IS ION-DIPOLE INTERACTIONS COLLECTIVELY?
 The tremendous amount of energy provided by
solvation can be better visualized by considering
the energy required to break the crystal lattice of
sodium chloride.
 In the absence of a solvent, sodium chloride must
be heated to more than 800°C to overcome the
forces that hold the oppositely charged ions
together.
 However, sodium chloride readily dissolves in water at room temperature because
solvation of the Na+ and Cl- ions by water molecules provides the energy necessary to
separate the ions.
 WHAT HOLDS A PROTEIN STRUCTURE TOGETHER?
 Amino acids are joined together to form proteins via peptide bond
(amide bond).
 Hydrogen bonds hold a segment of a protein chain in a helical
structure.
 Hydrogen bond is formed between a lone pair on oxygen and a
hydrogen that is attached to a nitrogen.

Hydrogen bond
 WHAT HOLDS TWO POLYNUCLEOTIDE CHAINS OF THE DNA
TOGETHER?
 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is made up of thousands of nucleotides and it stores the genetic information of an
organism.
 DNA consists of two polynucleotide chains that wind together in opposite directions to form a double helix.
 The two strands are held together between the bases. The phosphates and sugars (five-membered rings) are on
the outside. And bases (A, G, T and C) are on the inside.
 A always pairs with T using two hydrogen bonds and G always pairs with C using three hydrogen bonds.
A

sugars sugars
sugars sugars
HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SOLUBILITY OF
VITAMIN A & C, THE MECHANISM OF CLEANING ACTION
OF A SOAP, THE STRUCTURE OF A CELL MEMBRANE AND
THE MELTING POINT OF AN UNSATURATED OIL?
 WHAT IS THE SOLUBILITY OF VITAMIN A AND C?
 Vitamin A is an essential component of the vision receptors in our eyes.
 Vitamin A is water insoluble because it contains only one OH group and 20 carbon atoms.

 Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is important in the formation of collagen.

 Each carbon atom is bonded to an oxygen which makes it capable of hydrogen bonding, and
thus, water soluble.
DO YOU KNOW HOW DOES THE NAME “VITAMIN” COME ABOUT?

 The name vitamin was first used in 1912 by the Polish chemist Casimir
Funk who called them “vitamine” because he thought that all of them
contained an amine functional group.
 Later, the word was shortened to vitamin because some are amines but
others, like vitamin A and C, are not.
• “vital amine”
• antiberiberi “vitamine”
• antiscurvy “vitamine”
• antipellagra “vitamine”
• Antirickets “vitamine”
 HOW DOES SOAP REMOVE GREASE, OIL AND DIRT?
Soap molecules have two distinct parts:
 There is a hydrophilic portion composed of ions called the polar head.
 There is a hydrophobic carbon chain of nonpolar C-C and C-H bonds, called the nonpolar tail.

nonpolar interior

nonpolar tail
polar head

+ polar exterior
solvated by H2O
soap water soap micelles in H2O
 WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE OF A CELL MEMBRANE?
 Phospholipids contain an ionic or polar head, and two long nonpolar hydrocarbon +
(CH3)3NCH2CH2
tails.
O
 In an aqueous environment, phospholipids form a lipid bilayer, with the polar heads -
O P O
oriented towards the aqueous interior and exterior of the cell and the nonpolar tails O H
form a hydrophobic interior. polar head
Hydrophilic CH2 C CH2

Lipid bilayer region O

O O
O

Hydrophobic
region

Hydrophilic
region
Cell membrane Cytoplasm nonpolar tail
 HOW DOES A POLAR MOLECULE OR ION IN THE WATER OUTSIDE A CELL
PASS THROUGH THE NONPOLAR INTERIOR OF THE CELL MEMBRANE AND
ENTER THE CELL?
 Polar molecules and ions are transported across cell membranes encapsulated within molecules called
ionophores.
 Ionophores are organic molecules that complex cations.
 They have a hydrophobic exterior that makes them soluble in the nonpolar interior of the cell membrane, and
a central cavity with several oxygens whose lone pairs complex with a given ion.
Naturally occurring antibiotic ionophores

nonactin valinomycin
Each molecule contains a large central cavity to hold a cation.
HOW DOES A POLAR MOLECULE OR ION IN THE WATER OUTSIDE A CELL
PASS THROUGH THE NONPOLAR INTERIOR OF THE CELL MEMBRANE AND
ENTER THE CELL?
 An ionophore transports an ion across a cell membrane (from the side of higher
concentration of the ion to a side of lower ion concentration).
ion ionophore
cell exterior

lipid bilayer

cell interior
 WHY IS UNSATURATED VEGETABLE OIL TREATED WITH HYDROGEN TO
INCREASE THE MELTING POINT OF THE OIL?
• When unsaturated vegetable oil is treated with hydrogen, some or all of the  bonds were added H2.
This increases the melting point of the oil.
 WHY IS UNSATURATED VEGETABLE OIL TREATED WITH HYDROGEN TO
INCREASE THE MELTING POINT OF THE OIL?
• If unsaturated oils are healthier than saturated fats, why the food industry
hydrogenate oils?
• There are two reasons – aesthetics and shelf life. Consumers prefer the semi-
solid consistency of margarine to a liquid oil. Imagine pouring vegetable oil on
a piece of toast or pancakes.
• In fact, margarine is prepared by partially hydrogenating vegetable oils to give a
product with a consistency that more closely resembles butter.
• Peanut butter is a common consumer product that contains partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil.
• saturated fats clog arteries?
• saturated fats increases “bad” LDL cholesterol?
• cholesterol, fats, waste and other substances
accumulates in the arteries