Biological molecule

Macromolecules
 Macromolecules

• There are major elements that composes a human body, this

are the oxygen, carbon and hydrogen. This are basically
obtained from myriad of biochemical reaction that happens
to us every single day. and every single organism not just
humans are being fueled by organic molecule within our cell.
 4 major classes of organic molecule
• That is essential as a building block of every organism. They are essential for
sources of energy, energy storage and instruction of all organism in order to
grow. (through cell division)
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic Acid
• This are what you call a Macromolecule (Huge/Large/Big Molecule)
 Little History about William Prout
• William Prout is an English physician that studies about human beings
• Studied human digestion especially urine.
• He believe that to better understand human biology one must understand chemistry
and know what it does to our body
• He discovered that our stomach contains HCL
• Wrote a book from His research study about kidney stones. It was entitled “An
inquiry to the nature and treatment of gravel, calculus and other diseases connected
with a deranged operation of the urinary organs”
• First person to discover the chemical composition of pure Urea the main
component of urine with Chemical formula CO(NH2)2 in the presence of water,
urea gives off ammonia, the reason why you pee smells.
 Macromolecule
• Each molecular subunit that makes up a macromolecule is called
monomer
• What is monomer? - a molecule that can be bonded to other identical
molecules to form a polymer.
• The process of linking monomer is what called polymerization.
• In forming macromolecule from monomer, energy is required. Monomer
polymerize through condensation reaction which are also known as
Dehydration reactions
• This is where a new formed bond results in the loss of water molecule

• In separating polymer to monomer a process called Hydrolysis.

• What is Hydrolysis ? the chemical breakdown of a compound due to
reaction with water.
Example of Polymer formation Through
Dehydration Reaction

O
H H
OH O H OH
 Hydrolysis and Dehydration synthesis

• Work the same way with all types of biological molecule. The
synthesizing of a polymer from monomer through a process
of polymerization and will result in lossing of water and
likewise, from polymer will breakdown to monomer through
the use of water by a process called hydrolysis
 4 major organic molecules

• 1. Carbohydrates
• 2. Lipids
• 3. Nucleic Acid
• 4. Protein
 Carbohydrates
• Composed of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms
• Carbohydrate
• Made f Sugar
• Simplest form of carbohydrate is what you called Monosaccharides
• Mono – One, Saccharides – from the actual root word Sugar.
• E.g. Glucose – number 1 global food chain because it came from the sun.
How?
• All biological energy is originally captured from the Sun by
plants through a process called Photosynthesis.
• Every cells/ Organism that needs energy uses glucose.
• E.g Fructose, same structure of formula C6 H12 O6 but
arrange differently.
There are 3 main groups of carbohydrates

• 1. Monosaccharides (simple sugar)

• 2. Disaccharides (Double sugar)
• 3. Polysaccharides (Complex sugar)
 Monosaccharides
• Have a chemical formula of (CH2 O)n, where n can be 3, 5 or 6. they are
classified according to the number of carbon atoms in the molecule.
• N = 3 triose (e.g glyceraldehyde)
• N = 5 pentose (e.g Ribose, and Deoxyribose)
• N = 6 hextose (e.g fructose, glucose, galactose
• There are 2 types of molecule group that determines the
structure of a monosaccharide:

• 1. Carbonyl group (C=O) meaning a functional group composed of a

carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom.

• 2. Multiple Hydroxyl Groups (-OH) meaning a

functional group consisting of a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to
an oxygen atom
 Depending on the location the sugar can be
classified into 2 structure
• It can either be…
• 1. Aldose - s a monosaccharide (a simple sugar) with a carbon backbone
chain with a carbonyl group on the endmost carbon atom, making it an
aldehyde, and hydroxyl groups connected to all the other carbon atoms.
• 2. is a monosaccharide containing one ketone group per molecule. The
simplest ketose is dihydroxyacetone, which has only three carbon atoms, and
it is the only one with no optical activity.
 Structure and Classifcation
Triose Sugar Pentose Sugars Hexose
(C3 H6 O3) (C5 H10 O5) (C6 H12 O6)

H O H O Ribose H O Glucose H O Galactose

C C H C OH. C
H __ C __ OH H __ C __ OH HO C. H H. C. HO
H __ C __ OH H __ C __ OH H. C OH HO. C. H.
H __ C __ OH H C. OH. HO C H
__

H H __ C __ OH CH2OH. CH2OH
Aldoses

Glyceraldehyde
OH
CH2OH CH2OH CH2OH. Fructose
C=O =O C=O
CH2OH H. OH HO. C. H
Ketoses

Dihydroxy Acetone H. OH H. C. H
CH2OH H. C. OH
Ribose H. C. OH
CH2OH
 Additional to take note

• The structure of glucose, galactose and fructose differs in the

placement of parts around one asymmetric carbon or carbon
attached to 4 different kinds of patterns. These different
arrangements give the sugar different chemical and biological
arrangements.
 Disaccharides

• Consists of two monosaccharides joined glycosidic linkage (a

covalent bond formed between 2 monosaccharides by a
dehydration reaction).
• Mono and Disaccharides are pretty much little niblets of
energy that are really easy for our body to process.
• To better understand go to my notes
 Joining the glucose monomers in a different
way will result in different disaccharides. 3 most
common are.
• 1. Sucrose (Cane sugar) form from a glucose and fructose molecule joined
together. Occurs in sugarcane stems, sweet fruits, and certain storage roots.
• 2. Lactose (Milk sugar) formed when a glucose and galactose molecule
combined. Present in the milk of all mammals. ”Lactose intolerance –
individuals who are not able to breakdown the lactose disaccharides.
• 3. Maltose (Malt sugar) occurs in sprouting grains. Consists of 2 glucoses
bonded together. Important ingredient in beer production
 Another information to tell

• But when this carbohydrates start to form in longer and

longer chains. Their function and their roles change as
well. Instead of being sources for instant energy, they
become store houses of energy or structural compound.
These are the Polysaccharides.
 Polysaccharides
• Called complex carbohydrates.
• (Instead of just 2 or 3 monosaccharides put together, they contain thousands
of simple sugar units.)
• Consists of many monosaccharides joined together. (e.g Starch, Glycogen
and Cellulose) they are complex carbohydrates formed by the removal of
water from within the sugar
• Are also really good for storing energy and not just structurally but just as an
energy store.
 Cellulose
• The most abundant of all carbohydrates used for structural support.
• (bunch of glucose molecules bound together)
• Most common organic compound on the planet which is found in plants.
• Very difficult to digest. (Unless you’re a cow, that’s why you don’t enjoy
eating grass)
• Of course they are also good at storing energy wand that
where we get it on bread. Which made up of Starch by which
the most common is Amylose.
 Additional information

• Bread is made up of starch the most simple of which is

called amylose.
• Amylose and cellulose looks almost exactly identical but one
is grass and other is bread.
• Go to notes for your structure reference
 Starch
• Composed of about 300 to 1000 glucose units.
• Consists of entirely glucose monomers that are joined by glucosidic linkages.
• Most commonly found in plants(wheat) which use glucose to produce
energy.
• This energy is being stored and reserved after eating, this extra glucose being
stored are in the form of Starch, which they use when they are not
photosynthesizing.
• Since we as Humans cannot really produce our own energy
and dependent on the energy stored by other external
products. Our body has its own way of storing its energy and
that is through glycogen. The body breaks down most
carbohydrates from the foods we eat and converts them to a
type of sugar called glucose. ... When the body doesn't need
to use the glucose for energy, it stores it in the liver and
muscles. This stored form of glucose is made up of many
connected glucose molecules and is called glycogen.
 Glycogen

• Used for storing energy in animal cells such as in the liver and muscles.
• Suitable storage materials because it is insoluble in water, so it does not affect
the water potential of cells.
• Like starch, glycogen is composed of glucose molecules but in different
structure.
 Glycogen
• Basically made up of glucose we have left over after we eat and it sits in our
muscles where its ready to be used and its also stored in our livers.
• It acts as the secondary long-term energy storage. Muscle glycogen is
quickly converted into glucose by muscle cells and liver glycogen that
converts into glucose for use throughout the body which includes the central
nervous system.
• The way we store energy in long term is through fat
 Additional Information
• Chitin, a polymer of glucose molecules, that has an amino group (-NH2)
attached to every subunit of the glucose molecule. Thus it is chemically
different from other glucose polymers.
• Found in variety of organism, including animals and fungi.
• Used for structural support of fungi, insects and crustaceans.
• Seeds are coated with chitin which protects them from attack of soil fungi.
• Have antibacterial and antiviral properties that helps in dressing wounds and
as a suture materials.
 Functions of Carbohydrates
• 1. Biofuel
• 2. Food storage
• 3. As antigens (e.g glycoprotein to produce antibodies for fight foreign bodies such
as phatogens)
• 4. As a hormones
• 5. Source of raw materials for industry
• 6. As a substance for respiration
• 7. as a structural support in cells
• 8. as a components in the conversion of other organic compounds, such as amino
acids, fats and DNA
• 9. As anticoagulant
• 10. As synthesizer of nectar in some flowers
• This glycogen in the form of glucose will sits in our body,
particularly in muscles and liver. Its basically long term store
if we don’t eat for a day.

• There a longer way to store our energy. Through FAT

 LIPIDS

• Are smaller and simpler than complex carbohydrates and

they’re grouped together because they share an inability to
dissolve in water. This is because of their chemical bonds are
mostly nonpolar and hydrophobic class of carbon containing
compounds
 There are 3 types of lipids
• 1. FATS
• 2. Steroids
• 3. Phospholipids
 FATS
• Are composed of 3 fatty acids that have a long carbon skeleton usually 16-
18 carbon atoms in length and are linked to a 3 carbon molecule called
glycerol.
• What is Glycerol? is a simple polyol compound. It is a colorless, odorless,
viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic.
• You combine triglycerol to a long chain 3 fatty acid through dehydration
reaction they are called Triacyglycerols or Triglycerides.
• The reason Fats are hydro phobic because of the nonpolar C-H bonds in the
hydrocarbon chains.
Triglyceride can either be Unsaturated and
Saturated (with hydrogen)
 Saturated Triglyceride

• If the carbon atoms in a fatty acid are connected to each

other with single bonds, all of the carbon end up connected
to at least 2 hydrogen atoms. One of them picks up the third
hydrogen atom so the fatty acid is Saturated with hydrogen.
 Unsaturated Triglycerides

• But when some of the carbon atoms are connected to each other with
double bonds and they’re not able to pick up those hydrogen atoms. This
means they're not saturated with Hydrogen and they are unsaturated fatty
acids.
 UNSATURATED AND SATURATED

• Whenever the number of hydrogen is less than 2 per carbon

atom, Unsaturated fatty acid have double bonds in carbon
chain. On the other hand, Saturated fatty acids have no
double bonds at all.
 Other sample of fats
• Hear of Trans fats?
• is considered by many doctors to be the worst type of fat you can eat. Unlike
other dietary fats, trans fat — also called trans-fatty acids — both raises your
LDL ("bad") cholesterol and lowers your HDL ("good") cholesterol.
 Example of transfats
• Trans fat in your food
• The manufactured form of trans fat, known as partially hydrogenated oil, is found in a variety of
food products, including:
• Baked goods. Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made
from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
• Snacks. Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy
snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavor the
popcorn.
• Fried food. Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can
contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
• Refrigerator dough. Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as
do frozen pizza crusts.
• Creamer and margarine. Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially
hydrogenated vegetable oils.
 Example of fats
• Omega- 3 fats
• A class of essential fatty acids found in fish oils, especially from salmon and
other cold-water fish, that acts to lower the levels of cholesterol and LDL
(low-density lipoproteins) in the blood. ... EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) are the two principal omega-3 fatty acids.
• Remember the Triglycerides are 3 fatty
acid chains connected to a glycerol. Swap
one of those acids out for a Phosphate
and you have Phospholipids. These make
up cell membrane walls.
 Phospholipids
• Is lipid molecule with a phosphate group (PO4) attached to it, which serves
as its hydrophilic head. Its hydrophobic tail is composed of two nonpolar
fatty acid chain groups. The phospholipid is a prominent type of lipid
molecule present in the plasma membrane.
 Next is steroids

• Steroids have a backbone of four interconnected

carbon rings which can be used to form hundreds
of variations. The most fundamental is
Cholesterol which binds with phospholipids to
help form a cell walls/membrane. But also can be
manipulated to form other lipid hormones
 Steroids
• Unlike other lipids, it is different as its carbon skeleton is a four-ring
structure, where varying functional groups can be attached. Various steroids
differ from one another, depending on the functional groups or side groups
attached to their rings.
• Cholesterol is a common component of animal cell membrane and is also
the precursor from which other steroids, such as Vit D, sex hormonse and
cortison are synthesized.
 Are lipids bad for the body?
• Fats are essential to our body. Aside from providing the body with Vit D and
sex hormones, and the cells with bilayers of protection, lipids also help
maintain the proper function of the brain. They also significant components
for myelin or the fatty sheath that surrounds nerve fibers.
• Next is the most complicated molecule, PROTEIN. Protein
is always connected to other processes in our body especially
in DNA. There are many proteins in you that is currently
doing everything to keep you alive. That is because they are
one of the fundamental ingredient to make specific enzymes
regulating chemical processes in. your body and helps you
digest food. Also responsible in making antibodies and other
stuffs, also it is important in protein endorphins that helps
you feel emotional (Happy/Sad).
 PROTIEN
• Are very complex organic substances made up of carbon hydrogen, oxygen
and nitrogen. Sulfur may also be present.
• Protein account for more than 50% of the dry mass of most cells and they
are instrumental in every organisms activity.
• They do all this stuff using only 20 different ingredients. And this are the
AMINO ACIDS
• Just like Fatty acids, Amino acid have Carboxyl group of
one end and on the end they have Amino group.
• Before to proceed what is the difference between carboxyl
and carbonyl group?
• Carbonyl group consists of a carbon atom double bonded to an oxygen
atom whereas carboxyl group consists of a carbonyl group and a
hydroxyl group bonded to each other via the carbon atom of the carbonyl
group.
What do they look like?
What do amino acid look like?

R group or side chain and there are 20 different side chains

• Amino acids form a long chains called Polypeptides.
• What is polypeptide?
• are chains of amino acids. Proteins are made up of one or
more polypeptide molecules. The amino acids are linked
covalently by peptidebonds. The graphic on the right shows
how three amino acids are linked by peptidebonds into a
tripeptide.
 What is the role of a polypeptide?

• Amino acids serve as the building blocks of polypeptides,

and polypeptides serve as the building blocks of proteins. ...
Joining dozens of amino acids together makes
a polypeptide chain. A polypeptide chain can serve as a
protein on its own. However, lots of proteins are made up of
several polypeptide chains.
• Protein synthesis is only possible if you have all of the amino acids necessary, and
there are 9 of them that we cant make ourselves:
• Histidine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• Valine
 Types of protein and their functions
Types of Protein Function Example

Enzymatic proteins Selective acceleration of chemical Amylase

reactions
Structural proteins Support Keratin

Storage protein Storage of amino acids Albumin

Transport proteins Transport of other substances Hemoglobin

Hormonal proteins Coordination of an organisms Insulin

activities
Receptor proteins Responses of a cell to chemical Actin and myosin
stimuli
Contractile and motor proteins Movement Actin and myosin

Defensive proteins Protection against diseases Antibodies

• R may sometimes contain sulfur, acidic groups, amino groups, and/ or
hydroxyl groups (-OH) in place of one or more hydrogen atoms. The
properties of amino acids vary because their R-groups vary.
• There are different naturally occurring amino acids that are group
according to the properties of their side chains. These side chains
may be nonpolar and neutral; polar and neutral; acidic and polar; or
basic and polar.
• 1. Polar side Chains
• Bonds are more polar when there is great electronegativity difference
between the atoms. Function group such as acids, amides, alcohols, and
amines exhibit this property; thus they impart polarity to the amino acid.
• 2. Nonpolar side chains
• These side chains have pure hydrocarbon alkyl or aromatic groups. The
number of alkyl groups affect the polarity of the amino acid.
• 3. Acidic side chains
• One acidic functional group is enough to make an entire amino acid acidic.
• 4. Basic side chains
• An amine functional group produces a basic side chain.
• 5. Neutral side chains
• An amino acid that has both amine and acidic functional groups has neutral
side chain.
 20 types of amino acids
Amino Acids

1. Valine 6. Glutamine 11. Cysteline 16. Tyrosine

2. Leucine 7. Lysine 12. Threonine 17. Tryptophan

3. Isoleucine 8. Aspartic acid 13. Methionine 18. Asparagine

4. Alanine 9. Glumatic acid 14. Histidine 19. Glycine

5. Arginine 10. Proline 15. Phenylalanine 20. Serine

 Protein Formation
• Amino acid link to one another to form protein through polymerization.
• Takes place between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino
group of another. The condensation reaction produces a peptide bond. Since
water is lost in the reaction, carboxyl group is converted to a carbonyl group.
 Protein structure
• There are four levels of protein structure;
• Primary
• Secondary
• Tertiary
• Quaternary.
Level Description Stabilized By
Primary The sequence of amino acids in a Peptide bond
polypeptide

Secondary Formation of helices and Hydrogen bonding between

pleated sheets in a polypeptide
Tertiary Overall three dimensional shape
of a polypeptide(Includes
contribution from secondary
structures
Quaternary Shape produced by combinations
of polypeptides(Thus
combinations of tertiary
structures)
groups along the peptide bonded
backbone; depending on primary
structure
Bond and other interactions
between R-groups, or between R-
groups and the peptide bonded
backbone; thus depend on
primary structure
Bonds and other interactions
between R-groups and between
peptide backbones of different
polypeptides; thus depend on
primary structure
 Nucleic Acids
• Are classified either as Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or Ribonucleic acid
(RNA). These are polymer macromolecule and are also referred to as
polynucleotides.
• Each nucleic acid is made up of monomers called Nucleotides, While a
nucleotide is composed of nitrogenous base, a pentose (five carbon sugar)
and phosphate group. If the structure is without a phosphate it is called
Nucleoside
 There are 2 families of nitrogenous bases
• 1. First one consists of Pyrimidines which have 6 membered rings of carbon
and nitrogen atoms that tend to take up H* from solutions for which they
are called nitrogenous bases. These are cytosine, thymine (in RNA), and
uracil (in DNA).
• 2. The other is composed of purines, which are larger and have five to six
membered rings. These include adenine and guanine
• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid
• Best known for its double helix structure, where 2 strands of nucleotides are arranged
in a manner that makes the structure look like a twisted ladder. The nitrogenous bases
that compose the DNA are always paired and bound together by hydrogen bonds:
Adenine is linked to thymine (A-T); and guanin is linked to cytosine (G-C). The sides
of double helix are made up of deoxyribose sugar and phosphate molecules.
• Austro-Hungarian biochemist Erwin Chargaff established two empirical rules
regarding nitrogenous bases.
1. The number of purines in a DNA molecule is equal to the number of
pyrimidines;
2. The numbers of thymine and adenine are equal; so are the number of cytosine
and guanine.
• The gene can be found in some parts of these paired nitrogenous bases. It is primary unit
that contains the genetic codes of a particular organism. Much of this topic technical
should be discussed in Biology 2
• Aside from providing genetic and hereditary information, the DNA also functions as a
coder in the protein production of the cell, which ultimately affects the structural
elements and/or functions of cells in the body.
• There are 2 steps involved in the synthesis of protein: Transcription and translation.
• Transcription of an RNA molecule is performed by an enzyme called RNA polymerase
where partial unwinding of the DNA that codes for the needed protein can be
transcribed. The result of this transcription is the messenger RNA (mRNA). The
mRNA the proceeds to the endoplasmic reticulum (cytoplasm, for prokaryotes), passing
through the nuclear pores, to be translated by ribosome and a transfer RNA(tRNA) into
a new protein.
• Ribonucleic Acid (RNA
• Shares a similar structure as the DNA, except that RNA is single stranded. Moreover,
instead of cytosine, RNA has uracil to complete its set of nitrogenous bases. Instead of
deoxyribose, its sugar content is ribose.
• The RNA has three subtypes that are involved in protein synthesis: mRNA, tRNA and
ribosomal RNA(rRNA). What are the specific functions of these in the synthesis of
proteins?