Biomolecules

• Biomolecules are molecules that occur naturally in living organisms.
• Biomolecules include macromolecules like proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids.
• Biomolecules consist mainly of carbon and hydrogen with nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and phosphorus.
• Biomolecules are very large molecules of many atoms, which are covalently bound together.
• Carbohydrates are good source of energy.
• Carbohydrates are long chains of sugars (polysaccharide).
• (Monosaccharide) are simple sugars that are composed of 3-7 carbon atoms
• (Disaccharide) are made up of two monosaccharide.
• Monosaccharide and Disaccharide are sweet, crystalline and water soluble substances.
• Polysaccharide are polymers of monosaccharide. They are un-sweet and complex carbohydrates, insoluble in water and are not in crystalline form.
• Lipids are composed of long hydrocarbon chains.
• Lipid molecules hold a large amount of energy and are energy storage molecules.
• Lipids are generally esters of fatty acids and are building blocks of biological membranes.
• The most abundant organic compounds found in any living organisms responsible for as much 15% of the body’s dry weight.
• Mammalian cell approx. contain 10,000 different kinds of proteins having diverse array of functions.
• Keratin – hair
• Collagen – connective tissue
• Myosin and Actin – muscle cells
• Enzymes - protein that accelerate chemical reactions.
• Antibodies – proteins responsible for the body’s defense against infection.
• Hormones – proteins that regulate body functions.
• Growth Factors – proteins that influence an organism’s growth and development
• Proteins are formed from 20 different amino acids
• Antibodies Defense - system of the body against disease causing foreign organism and particles
• Produced by a specific type of white blood cells called B lymphocytes in response to the presence of foreign substance in the body called antigen.
• Nucleic acids are organic compounds with heterocyclic rings
• Nucleic acids are made of polymer of nucleotides.
• A nucleotide is made of nitrogenous base attached to a pentose sugar. The nitrogenous bases are adenine, guanine, thyamine, cytosine and uracil
• DNA as double stranded helix molecule was first described by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.