KMH316 Biotechnology

Biomolecules

Dr. Suzan BİRAN AY

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Structure and Function of Macromolecules

The living cell of an organism

is a chemical machine. It is an
assembly of various types of
biomolecules having diverse
physico-chemical and
biological properties.
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What is a polymer?

• Poly = many; mer = part.

• A polymer is a large molecule consisting of many
smaller sub-units bonded together.
• A monomer is a sub-unit of a polymer (mono=one,
single; mer=part).
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Making and Breaking Biopolymers

• Building up biopolymers - anabolic process.

• Monomers are covalently linked to one another (by enzymes)

through removal of water.

• This process is called condensation or dehydration

synthesis reaction.
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Dehydration Synthesis
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Making and Breaking Polymers

• Breaking up polymers - catabolic process.

• The covalent bond between monomers is broken through

addition of water .

• This process is called hydrolysis.

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Hydrolysis
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Classes of biomolecules

• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic Acids
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Carbohydrates

• Include sugars and their polymers

• Carbo=carbon, hydrate=water
• Monomer is the monosaccharide

Functions:
• Source of energy……..sugars
• Store of energy………..starch, glycogen
• Structural materials….polysaccharides
• Components of other molecules e.g. DNA, RNA,
glycolipids, glycoproteins
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Monosaccharides

• general formula [CH2O]n, n≥3

• An -OH group is attached to each carbon except
one, which is double bonded to an oxygen
(carbonyl).
• Classified according to the size of their carbon
chains, varies from 3 to 7 carbons.
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Monosaccharides

• In aqueous solutions many monosaccharides form rings

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Monosaccharides
Same molecular formula, but different
structural formulas
Examples:
• glucose, galactose,
fructose, mannose,
C6H12O6
• deoxyribose, ribose
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Disaccharides

• 2 monosaccharides form glycosidic bond, C-O-C,

condensation reaction

• general formula is C12H22O11

• Notice that one molecule of water is missing from the
formula.
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Disaccharides

• common disaccharides are:

Maltose

Sucrose Lactose
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Disaccharides

• Briefly:

Sucrose→glucose + frucose; α,β (1,2) linkage

Lactose→glucose + galactose; β (1,4) linkage

Maltose→glucose+glucose; α (1,4) linkage

Cellobiose→glucose+glucose; β (1,4) linkage

Isomaltose→glucose+glucose; α (1,6) linkage

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Polysaccharides

• Large sugars
• basic formula is ( C6H10O5)n
• Homopolysacharides
• Contain single type of monomer
• Storage of monomer : glycogen, starch
• Structural elements : cellulose, chitin
• Heteropolysaccharides
• Contain two or more types of monomer
• Extracellular support
–Bacterial cell wall
–Extracellular matrix of animals
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Polysaccharides

Storage Polysaccharides:
• Starch is a plant storage polysaccharide that is composed
entirely of glucose joined by , 1-4 glycoside linkages; easily
hydrolyzed to glucose units.
• Amylose is the simplest form of starch, unbranched and water
soluble.
• Amylopectin is more complex –contains , 1-6 glycoside
linkages- and is branched.
• Glycogen is an animal starch, highly branched chain, used by
animals to store energy in muscles and the liver.
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Polysaccharides

Structural Polysaccharides:
• Cellulose is the most abundant organic compound on earth. It is
a fiber-like structural material - tough and insoluble - used in
plant cell walls.It is made of glucose, like starch, but they differ in
the type of 1-4 linkage. Instead of an  linkage cellulose contains
a  1-4 linkage. Enzymes find it difficult to break the  1-4 linkage.

• Chitin is a polysaccharide used as a structural material in

arthropod exoskeleton and fungal cell walls
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Lipids

• Large, hydrophobic biological compounds

• Insoluble in water
• Have a higher ratio of carbon and hydrogen atoms to
oxygen atoms than carbohydrates
• Lipids store more energy per gram than other organic
compounds
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Lipids

Functions:
• Energy storage
• membrane structure
• Protecting against desiccation (drying out).
• Insulating against cold.
• Absorbing shocks.
• Regulating cell activities by hormone actions.
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Categories of Lipids

• Fatty Acids
• Triglycerides
• Phospholipids
• Waxes
• Steroids
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Categories of Lipids

• Fatty Acids
• Linear carbon chains
• The carboxyl end is polar and
is hydrophilic
• The methyl end is nonpolar
and is hydrophobic
Saturated fatty acids
–Tight packing, high melting point,
solid at RT
Unsaturated fatty acids
–More than one cis-double bond, low
melting point, liquid at RT
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Categories of Lipids

• Triglycerides (Fats)
• One molecule of glycerol and three fatty acid chains
linked by ester linkage
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Categories of Lipids
• Phospholipids
• Glycerol backbone
• Two fatty acids (hydrophobic)+ phosphate (hydrophilic) =
amphipathic molecule
• Additional small polar molecules bound to phosphate group
• Major component of
cellular membrane
• Ex: lecithin-emulsifier
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Categories of Lipids

• Phospholipids in water
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Categories of Lipids

• Waxes
• A long fatty acid chain joined to a long alcohol chain
• Waterproof
• Form a protective coating in animals and plants
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Categories of Lipids
• Steroids
• Cyclic hydrocarbon compounds having 4 fused carbon rings
• Many animal hormones are steroid compounds
• Cholesterol is an important steroid found in all animal tissue. It also
adds strength to the plasma membrane in animal cells
• Plants do not contain cholesterol.
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Proteins

• Proteins are polymers formed by amino acids covalently

linked by a peptide bond, contain C,H,N, O, S
• 3D structure of protein is critical for biologic activity
• Fibrous structure
• Globular structure
• Biological functions:
1. Structural: collagen, keratin
2. Storage: ovalbumin, casein
3. Catalytic: enzymes
4. Transport: hemoglobin, serum albümin
5. Regulatory: hormones (insulin, gh)
6. Protective : antibodies
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Amino acids

• Building blocks: 20 amino acids

• Every amino acid contains
- an amino group
- a carboxyl group
- a hydrogen atom
- a central carbon atom
- R (alkyl/aryl) group
• R groups have different shapes & characteristics
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Amino acids

• a.a. have acidic (-COOH) and basic (-NH2)

groups.
• Under alkaline conditions → -COO-
• Under acidic conditions → -NH3+
• At intermediate pH→ a.a has positiveltty and negatively
charged groups => zwiterion
• Each a.a. & protein has an isoelectric point pI,
where the net charge of molecule is zero.
• At pH=pI , protein precipitates or
does not migrate under electric field.
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Peptides

• When the amino group of one aa reacts with the

carboxyl group of another aa, a peptide bond is formed
and a molecule of water is released (dehydration
reaction).

• Polypeptides contain <50 aa

• Larger chains of aa are called proteins.

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Protein Structure

4 levels of protein structure:

• primary
• secondary
• tertiary
•quaternary
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Protein Structure

1. Primary structure:
• Unique sequence of amino
acids in a protein
• Slight change in primary
structure can alter function
• Determined by genes
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Protein Structure

2. Secondary structure:
• Repeated folding of protein’s polypeptide backbone
• stabilized by H bonds between peptide linkages in the protein’s
backbone
• 2 types:
• α-helix: H-bonding btw carboxyl group
of one aa and –NH group of its
neighbour, can easily be disrupted.
• β- pleated sheets: H bonds btw
parallel/antiparallel chains, peptide
backbone forms zig-zag pattern, good
stability
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Protein Structure

3. Tertiary structure:
• Overall 3D arrangement
• Irregular bendings of a protein due to
bonding between R groups
• Weak bonds:
̶ H bonding between polar side chains
̶ ionic bonding between charged side chains
̶ hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions
• Strong bonds:
̶ disulfide bridges form strong covalent
linkages
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Protein Structure

4. Quaternary structure:
• only for proteins having more than 1 polypeptide chain
• Complex structure formed by the interaction of 2 or more
polypeptide chains
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Protein Structure
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Factors That Determine Protein Conformation

• Occurs during protein synthesis within cell

• Depends on physical conditions of environment
– pH, temperature, salinity, etc.
• Change in environment may lead to denaturation of protein
• Denatured protein is biologically inactive
• Can renature if primary structure is not lost

Native Denatured Renatured

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Nucleic acids

• Large and complex organic

molecules that store and
transfer genetic information in
the cell
• Types of nucleic acids
– DNA =deoxyribonucleic acid
– RNA = Ribonucleic acid
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Nucleic acids

• Monomers of nucleic acids

are nucleotides
• Components of a nucleotide
- nitrogen base
- sugar
- phosphate
(purine-double
ring- or
pentose pyrimidine-
(ribose or deoxyribose)single ring)
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Nucleic acids

• nucleotides are joined together

by phosphodiester bonds.
• Phosphate group of one
nucleotide forms strong
covalent bond with the #3
carbon of the sugar of the other
nucleotide.
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Nucleic acids

• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

• Double helix (double stranded)
• can self replicate
• Carrier of genetic information
• is passed from one generation to another
• Contains
– Purines: adenine (A) & guanine (G)
– Pyrimidines: thymine (T) & cytosine (C)
• Base pairing between chains with H bonds
̶ A-T
̶ C-G
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Nucleic acids

• Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

• Is a single helix
• is made from the DNA template molecule
• Takes part in protein synthesis: m-RNA, t-RNA &
r-RNA
• Contains
– Purines: adenine (A) & Guanine (G)
– Pyrimidines: Cytosine (C) & urasil (U)
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Summary of Biomolecules