MACROMOLECULES

MACROMOLECULES
 Large organic molecules
POLYMERS

 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.

Monomer

Polymer
H 2O
MACROMOLECULES

 Carbohydrates

 Lipids

 Proteins

 Nucleic Acids
CARBOHYDRATES
CARBOHYDRATES
Characterictics
 Organic compounds

 Carbo = carbon, hydrate = water;

carbohydrates have the molecular formula
(CH2O)n
Elements: C, H, & O
Monomers: Monosaccharides
Polymers: Polysaccharides
Water Soluble
1. STRUCTURE OF MONOSACCHARIDES

 An OH group is attached to each carbon

except one, which is double bonded to an
oxygen (carbonyl).
Triose = 3 carbons Pentose = 5 carbons Hexose = 6 carbons
2. STRUCTURE OF DISACCHARIDES
 Double sugar that consists of 2
monosaccharides, joined by a glycosidic
linkage.
 Condensation synthesis
 EXAMPLES OF DISACCHARIDES:
Lactose = glucose + galactose Sucrose = glucose + fructose
3. POLYSACCHARIDES
 Starch is a plant storage from of energy,
easily hydrolyzed to glucose units
 Cellulose is a fiber-like structureal material
- tough and insoluble - used in plant cell
walls
 Glycogen is a highly branched chain used
by animals to store energy in muscles and
the liver.
 Chitin is a polysaccharide used as a
structural material in arthropod
exoskeleton and fungal cell walls.
CARBOHYDRATE FUNCTIONS

 Quick energy foods.

 Storage- starch=Plants, glycogen=Animals

 Structure (cellulose-Plants and chitin-Fungi)

LIPIDS
 C, H, & O
• Diverse Group of Biological Molecules
• Water Insoluble
• Triglycerides (neutral fats)
• Phospholipids
• Steroids
 Fatty Acid
Glycerol
PHOSPHOLIPIDS

 In a phospholipid, two fatty acids and a

phosphate group are attached to glycerol
 The two fatty acid tails are hydrophobic, but the
phosphate group and its attachments form a
hydrophilic head
FIGURE 5.12

Choline
Hydrophilic head

Phosphate

Glycerol
Hydrophobic tails

Fatty acids

Hydrophilic
head

Hydrophobic
tails

(a) Structural formula (b) Space-filling model (c) Phospholipid symbol

 When phospholipids are added to water, they self-
assemble into a bilayer, with the hydrophobic tails
pointing toward the interior
 The structure of phospholipids results in a bilayer
arrangement found in cell membranes
 Phospholipids are the major component of all cell
membranes
Hydrophilic WATER
head

Hydrophobic
tail WATER
STEROIDS

 Steroids are lipids characterized by a carbon

skeleton consisting of four fused rings
 Cholesterol, an important steroid, is a component
in animal cell membranes
 Although cholesterol is essential in animals, high
levels in the blood may contribute to
cardiovascular disease
PROTEIN
 Elements: C, H, O, & N
• Monomers: Amino Acids
• Polymers: Polypeptides or Proteins
• Generally Water Soluble
 Amino Acid
carboxyl

amine

Functional R
 Glutamic
Valine Histadine Leucine Threonine Proline hemoglobin
Acid

Glutamic keratin
Cystine Serline Proline Theronine Valine
Acid
PROTEINS (POLYPEPTIDES)
 Amino acids (20 different kinds of aa) bonded
together by peptide bonds (polypeptides).

 Six functions of proteins:

1. Storage: albumin (egg white)
2. Transport: hemoglobin
3. Regulatory: hormones

4. Structural: membranes, hair, nails

5. Enzymes: cellular reactions

35
NUCLEIC ACIDS
Elements: C, H, O, N, & P
Monomers: Nucleotides
Polymers: Nucleic Acids
Generally Water Soluble
NUCLEIC ACIDS
 Nucleotides include:
phosphate group
pentose sugar (5-carbon)
nitrogenous bases:
adenine (A)
thymine (T) DNA only
uracil (U) RNA only
cytosine (C)
guanine (G)

38
NUCLEOTIDE
Phosphate
Group

O 5
O=P-O CH2
O
O
N
Nitrogenous base
C4 C1 (A, G, C, or T)

Sugar
(deoxyribose)

C3 C2 39
 NUCLEIC ACIDS
 Two types:
a. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA-
double helix)
b. Ribonucleic acid (RNA-single
strand)
 Nucleic acids are composed of long
chains of nucleotides linked by
dehydration synthesis.

40
FIGURE 5.26

Sugar-phosphate backbone
5 end Nitrogenous bases
Pyrimidines
5C

3C

Nucleoside

Nitrogenous
base Cytosine (C) Thymine (T, in DNA) Uracil (U, in RNA)

5C Purines

1C
Phosphate 3C
group Sugar
5C
(pentose)
Adenine (A) Guanine (G)
3C (b) Nucleotide

Sugars
3 end
(a) Polynucleotide, or nucleic acid

Deoxyribose (in DNA) Ribose (in RNA)

(c) Nucleoside components

DNA 5- DOUBLE HELIX
O 3

3 O
P 5 P
5 O
1 G C 3
2
4 4
2 1
3 5
O
P P
5
T A 3

O
5
P 3 P
42
THE STRUCTURES OF DNA AND RNA MOLECULES

 RNA molecules usually exist as single

polypeptide chains
 DNA molecules have two polynucleotides
spiraling around an imaginary axis, forming a
double helix
 In the DNA double helix, the two backbones run
in opposite 5→ 3 directions from each other, an
arrangement referred to as antiparallel
 One DNA molecule includes many genes
FIGURE 5.UN02
FIGURE 5.UN02A
FIGURE 5.UN02B