CHAPTER 4:

CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION
OF THE CELL

 ELEMENT IN THE CELL

1. There are about 92 element

occurring naturally in nature.
2. From these 92 element, only about
25 element are needed to build
living organisms.
3. Not all these element found in all
living cell.
4. Main element (CHON) are the most
frequently found elements in cells,
forming about 96% of the human
body mass.
5. Trace-elements are the elements are
found in small quantity in cells, but
are important in biological
processes.

CHEMICAL COMPOUND IN THE

CELL

1. Chemical compounds in the cell can be divided into two

major group:
Organic
Inorganic
2. Organic compounds are:
Chemical compounds contain carbon (exception are
carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbides and carbonates
which are typically considered as inorganic)
Are usually found in and originate from living organism.
Usually consist of macromolecules (large molecules).
3. Inorganic compounds are:
Chemical compounds that do not contain carbon
Usually a smaller and simpler than organic compounds
Founds in cells water, acids, alkalis and mineral salts

There are 4 main group of organic compounds

in cells:
I.
Carbohydrates
II. Lipids
III. Proteins
IV. Nucleic acids

I.

II.

Carbohydrates
The carbohydrates are made up of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen. The ratio of hydrogen
to oxygen atoms in a molecule usually 2:1.
Many carbohydrates have the general formula
CX(H2O)Y,where x is approximately equal to y.

III. Three basic types of carbohydrates are

monosaccharide, disaccharides and
polysaccharides

 Monosaccharide
i. Monosaccharide also called simple sugar
ii. The common monosaccharide are sixcarbon sugar with a molecular formula of
C6H12O6
iii.Example of monosaccharide are glucose,
fructose (fruit sugar) and galactose
iv. Glucose is the most common
monosaccharide and respiratory
substrate
v. Monosaccharide are sweet-tasting
crystalline substances which are soluble
in water


i.

Disaccharides

Disaccharides are formed from two

monosaccharide molecules combining together
with the elements of a molecule of water. The
chemical reaction of the formation is known as
condensation.
ii. The general formula of a disaccharides is
C12H22O11
iii. Disaccharides also called double sugar.
iv. Disaccharides can be broken down to their
constituent monosaccharide by a chemical
reaction involving the addition of water. The
reaction is know as hydrolysis.

v.

Like monosaccharide, they are sweet-tasting

crystalline substances that are soluble in water.
Condensation

+ H2 O
Hydrolysis

C6H12O6

C6H12O6

glucose

fructose

C12H22O11

water

sucrose

vi. The most common disaccharides are maltose,

lactose and sucrose.

Condensation

+ H2 O
Hydrolysis

C6H12O6

C6H12O6

glucose

glucose

maltose

+ H2 O
Hydrolysis
C6H12O6

glucose

water

Condensation

+
C6H12O6

C12H22O11

C12H22O11

water

sucrose

fructose

Condensation

+ H2 O
Hydrolysis

C6H12O6

C6H12O6

glucose

galactose

C12H22O11
lactose

water

 Polysaccharides
i. Many monosaccharide molecules join
together in a condensation reaction (with
the removal of water molecules) to form
a large polysaccharides molecules.
ii. Polymerisation is the process of
condensing many individual
monosaccharide molecules to form a
large polysaccharides molecules.
iii. In polymerisation, the individual
monosaccharide molecule are called
monomers.
iv. Polymerisation of monosaccharide forms:
Glycogen in humans and animals
Starch and cellulose in plants

glucose

Starch structure
Sub unit: Glucose
Consists of two components.
a) Unbranched, helical chains of glucose units
b)Branched chains of glucose units
Major storage of carbohydrate in plants

glucose

glycogen
Sub unit: Glucose
Molecules with many side branches
Major storage of carbohydrates in animals and
fungi, for
examples, in muscle cells and liver cells

glucose

cellulose
Straight unbranched chain of
glucose units
Plant cell wall

 Reducing and non-reducing sugar

a) Some sugars act as mild reducing

agents
b) Two common test reagent to test for
reducing sugar are:
i. Benedicts reagent (alkaline solution
of CuSO4)
ii. Fehlings reagent (alkaline solution of
CuSO4)
c) Reducing sugars reduce Cu+ (blue
solution) to Cu+ (brick red precipitate)
in both reagents.

 Proteins
1. Proteins are compounds of these element:
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen sulphur
and phosphorus.
2. Amino acids are the subunits of all proteins.
3. Each amino acids carries two functional group:
a) A carboxyl group (- COOH) which is acidic and
b) An amino group (-NH2) which is basic.
COOH carboxyl group
C
NH2
amino group

 Two amino acids can combine together

to form a dipeptide by a condensation
reaction between the carboxyl group of
one and the amino group of the other.
The resulting a bond liking the two
amino acids that is called a peptide
bond.
H2O

cooh
C
NH2

O
Hn

hooch

condensation

Peptide bond

h
n
c

nh2 hooc

 Long chains of amino acids are called

polypeptides.
A polypeptide is formed by the condensation
reaction of many amino acids, with the
removel of water.
A polypeptide chain can also be hydrolysed,
with the addition of water molecules to form
individual amino acids.
PROTEIN STRUCTURE
Primary-linear sequence of amino acids
Secondary structure- forming ahelixor pleated
sheet.
Tertiary structure- compact structure
Quaternary structure- 2 or more tertiary
structure

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

LIPIDS
Lipids a diverse group of substance that
contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
The proportion of oxygen is lower than
that in carbohydrates. For example, the
general formula of stearic acid is C18H36O2.
All lipids are insoluble in water
Lipids dissolve readily in other lipids and
in organic solvent such as ether and
ethanol.
The main types of lipids are:
Fats
Oils
Waxes
Phospholipids
steroids

Fats and oils

Fats are solid at room temperature
(20C), whereas oil are liquid
Each molecule of fats or oils is made up
of one glycerol combine with three
fatty acids which may be the same or
may be different. Three molecule of
water are remove
in
this
condensation
Condensation (- H O)
reaction. +
2

Hydrolysis (+ H2O)

glycerol

3 fatty acids
molecules

Triglyceride +
3 water molecules

 These molecules of fats and oils are known

as triglycerides.
Fats often contain only saturated fatty acids.
Oils usually contain unsaturated fatty acids.
In a saturated fatty acids, the carbon
atoms are bonded to the maximum number
of other atoms. Saturated fatty acid has only
single bond and the hydrocarbon chain is
relatively straight.
Unsaturated fatty acids has double bond in
the form of CH=CH- in the hydrocarbon
chain. Fatty acids; those with two or more
double bond are called polyunsaturated
fatty acids.

Type of Exampl Structural formula

fatty
e
acids
Saturated Stearic
CH3(CH2)16COOH
acid
Unsaturat Oleic
CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)
Fats andacid
oils function
efficiently as
ed
7COOH

energy storage material. Fats and oils

provide 38kJ per gram, while
carbohydrates can provide only 17 kJ
per gram.

Waxes
Waxes are similar to triglycerides, but the
fatty acids are bonded to long-chain
alcohols rather than glycerol
Waxes are usually hard solids at room
temperature
Waxes are used to waterproof the external
surface of plants and animal. The cuticle
of a leaf and the protective covering on an
insects body are made of waxes.
Wax is also a constituent of the
honeycomb of bees

Phospholipids
Phospholipids have a similar structure to
triglycerides but one of the fatty acids is
replaced by a phosphate group
The end of the phospholipids molecule
containing the phosphate group is
hydrophilic. The other end containing
the hydrocarbon chain of the fatty acids
is hydrophobic.
The hydrophilic end is soluble in water
while hydrophobic is insoluble in water.
Phospholipids bilayer from the basis of
all cell membrane.

Steroids
A steroid molecule has a complex ring
structure
Steroid occur in plants and animals
Examples of steroids are cholesterol,
testosterone,
estrogen and
Steroid
Function
progesterone.
cholesterol

Strengthens the cell

membrane at high body
temperature

testosterone
estrogen and
progesterone.

Male reproductive hormone

female reproductive
hormone

 Saturated and and saturated fats

Animal fats such as lard, butter and
cream are example of saturated fats
Vegetable oil such as olive oil and
sunflower oil are example of
unsaturated fats.

Saturated fats

Unsaturated fats
Similarities
1. Both are triglycerides
2. They yield 38 kJ per gram
3. Their molecules congregate into globule
because of their hydrophobic properties
Differences
Saturated fats
Unsaturated fats
Higher melting point
Lower melting point
Most are solid at room Most are liquid at room
temperature
temperature
More likely to cause
Less likely to cause
disease of the heart
disease of the heart
and arteries
and arteries
More stable at room

Unstable at room

ENZYMES
Enzymes are protein molecules
act as biological catalysts. They
speed up the rate of metabolic
reactions and do not chemically
changed at the end of the reaction
The substance whose reactivity is
increased by an enzymes is
knowing as a substrate

THE GENERAL
CHARACTERISTICS OF
ENZYMES
Enzymes speed up the rates of
biochemical reactions in cells.
Only a small amount of enzymes is
needed to catalyse a lot of substrate.
Enzymes are very specific each class of
enzymes will catalyse only one particular
reaction.
Enzymes are not used up or destroyed in
the reactions that they catalyse, but can
be reused again.
Enzymes catalyse reversible reactions
Many enzymes are only able to work with
in presence of a coenzymes (or cofactor).
Enzymes are effected by changes in
temperature and pH

NAMING OF ENZYMES
An emzyme is named by taking its substrate
name and adding the suffix -ase
Example, protease catalyses the hydrolysis
of protein.
The -ase rule does not apply to enzymes
discover before the -ase idea was
introduced. For example, pepsin, rennin,
ptyalin and tripsin.
The modern classification of enzymes was
decided by the International Union of
Biochemistry (IUB) in 1961

INTRACELLULAR AND
EXTRACELLULAR ENZYMES
Intracellular emzyme that catalyses
reaction within a cell and formed by
the free ribosome in the cytoplasm.
Extracellular emzyme that leaves
the cell and catalyses reaction
outside the cell and synthesised by
ribosome attached to the rough
endoplasmic recticulum.

MECHANISM OF ENZYMES
ACTION
Each enzyme molecule has a region with very
precise shape called active site.
The substrate molecule fit into the active site of
the enzymes like a key into a lock, forming an
enzyme-substrate complex, a temporary
structure.
Reaction take place at active site to form a
product.
The product have a different shape from the
substrate and therefore repelled from a active
site.


1.
2.
3.
4.

THERE ARE 4 FACTORS AFFECT THE ACTIVITY OF

ENZYMES
pH
Temperature
Concentration of enzyme
Concentration of substrate

The effect of pH on enzyme

activity

Each enzyme has a optimum pH at which its rate of

reaction is the fastest. i.e. pepsin at pH 2,(acidic)
amylase pH 7 (neutral) and trypsin at pH 8-9
(alkaline)

The effect of temperature on enzyme

activity

The rate of reaction will increase up to

maximum, known as optimum
temperature.
After the optimum temperature
around 37C-40C, the rate of reaction
falls quickly because of the bonds
maintaining the structure of the
enzyme start to break and the active
site loses its shape.
At 60C, enzyme activity will stop
altogether because the enzyme is
denatured

The effect of substrate concentration

on enzyme activity

1. Increase the substrate

concentration will increase the
chance of enzyme-substrate
collision, and the rate of reaction
will increase.
2. Addition of substrate will not
increase the rate of reaction
anymore because the constant
enzyme concentration becomes the
limiting factor.

The effect of enzym concentration on enzyme

activity

1. When the concentration of enzyme

increase, there are more chance
enzyme-substrate collision. The rate
of reaction increase linearly as long
as no other factors are limiting.
THE USES OF ENZYMES

1. Enzyme can extracted from any

living organism, and used either
at home or in industry
2. Enzymes that are commonly
used in daily life are:
a. Papain-found in papaya used to
tenderise meat
b. Protease-used to tenderise
meat and remove hair from the
skin etc.

Health problems

What

Leads to

Definition

Deficiency

CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION
OF THE CELL
Element

Water

How
Mechanism

Compound

Consists of

Enzymes

Can be classified

Forms

Includes

Carbohydrate

Lipid

Protein

Why

Importance
Affected by

Break down into

Form

Simpler
molecules

Factors