CHAPTER 3: ORGANIC MOLECULES

Again, much of this should be familiar.

Carbon
Carbon has 4 electrons in its outer shell Needs 4 more electrons to fill the shell It can make up to 4 bonds
Usually single or double bonds

Carbon can form nonpolar and polar bonds

Molecules with nonpolar bonds (like hydrocarbons) are poorly water soluble Molecules with polar bonds are more water soluble

Functional Groups
Groups of atoms with special chemical features that are functionally important Each type of FG exhibits the same properties in all molecules in which it occurs C Compounds may h d have more than one FG th

Isomers
identical molecular formula but different structures and characteristics Structural isomers- contain the same atoms but in different bonding relationships Stereoisomers- identical bonding Stereoisomers relationships, but the spatial positioning of the atoms differs in the two isomers
Geometric isomers- positioning around double bond Enantiomers mirror image of another molecule Enantiomers-

Four major bio-organic macromolecules

Carbohydrates
Composed of CHO Cn(H2O)n Most of the carbon atoms in a carbohydrate are linked to a hydrogen atom and a hydroxyl group

Monosaccharides

Simplest sugars Most common are 5 or 6 carbons

Pentoses- ribose (C5H10O5), deoxyribose (C5H10O4) Hexose- glucose (C6H12O6)

Different ways to depict structures

Ring or linear (ring forms in aqueous soln)

Disaccharides
composed of two monosaccharides via dehydration (condensation) reaction Broken apart by hydrolysis Examples -sucrose, maltose, lactose

Polysaccharides y
Many monosaccharides linked together to form long polymers Examples
Energy storage starch glycogen starch, Structural role cellulose, chitin, glycosaminoglycans

Lipids
Composed predominantly of H & C nonpolar = very insoluble in water examples: f t phospholipids, steroids l fats, h h li id t id

Fats
Mixture of triglycerides
Also known as triacylglycerols

Formed by bonding glycerol to three fatty acids dehydration, Joined by dehydration broken via hydrolysis important for energy storage
1 gram of fat stores twice as much energy as 1 gram of glycogen or starch

Fats can also be structural in providing cushioning p g g and insulation

 Fatty acids
Saturated- all carbons are linked by single covalent bonds
Tend to be solid at room temperature

Unsaturated- contain one or more double bonds b d

1 double bond- monounsaturated 2 or more polyunsaturated Tend to be liquids at room temperature (oils)

Phospholipids p p
Glycerol, 2 fatty acids and a phosphate group A hi thi molecule Amphipathic l l
Head region- polar, hydrophillic Fatty acid chains- nonpolar, hydrophobic

Important in membrane structure, signalling

(e.g. Choline, serine, etc)

Steroids
Four interconnected rings of carbon atoms Usually not very water soluble Cholesterol Estrogen and testosterone differ only slightly

Proteins
Composed of COHN, some S, often modified Machines of the cell Amino acids are the monomers
Common structure with variable R-group 20 L-amino acids (used in proteins) Side-chain determines structure and function

Proteins: they do it all.

 Joined by dehydration reaction

Peptide bond Forms polypeptides Proteins are made up of 1 or more polypeptides

Broken apart by hydrolysis

Protein Structure
Primary: seq of AA, determined by gene AA Secondary: -helices, -sheets Tertiary: 3 D shape T ti 3-D h Quaternary: 2 or more subunits, multi-meric complexes

5 factors promoting protein folding and stability d bili

1. 1 2. 3. 3 4. 5. Hydrogen bonds Ionic bonds Hydrophobic ff t H d h bi effects Van der Waals forces Disulfide bridges

Protein-protein interactions
Many cellular processes involve steps in p which two or more different proteins interact with each other Specific binding at surface Use first 4 factors

Ribonuclease experiment Nobel Prize 1972: Christian Anfinsen

see Fig 3.19

Proteins Contain Functional Domains Wi hi Th i S D i Within Their Structures

Module or domains in proteins have distinct structures and function Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) protein example E hd Each domain of thi protein i i i f this t i is involved i a l d in distinct biological function Proteins that share one of these domains also share that function

Nucleic Acids

Responsible for the storage, expression, and transmission of genetic information Two classes
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (deoxy sugar more stable)
Store genetic information coded in the sequence of their monomer building blocks

Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

Involved in decoding this information into instructions for linking g g together a specific sequence of amino acids to form a polypeptide chain

 Monomer is a nucleotide Made up of phosphate group, a fivecarbon sugar (either ribose or deoxyribose), and a single or double ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms known as a base S Sugar-phosphate b kb h h t backbone

nucleoside

Base+sugar = nucleoside B+S+phosphate(s) = nucleotide B S h h t ( ) l tid

purines i

5-AGCT-3.. pyrimidines (+ uracil)

DNA vs. RNA s

DNA RNA Deoxyribonucleic acid Ribonucleic acid Deoxyribose D ib Ribose Rib Thymine (T) Uracil (U) Adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) used in both 2 strands- double helix Single strand 1 form Several forms