biomolecules

• Biomolecules


  Any of the substances that are produced by cells and living organisms
• Major types of biomolecules

  • Carbohydrates
  • Lipids
  • Nucleic acids
  • Proteins
• Carbohydrates


  The body's most important and readily available source of energy, necessary for a healthy diet
• Classification of carbohydrates


  • Monosaccharides
  • Disaccharides
  • Polysaccharides
• Monosaccharides


  Simple sugars
• Disaccharides


  Formed when two monosaccharides undergo a dehydration reaction
• Polysaccharides


  Long chain of monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bonds
• Monosaccharides


  • Glucose
  • Galactose
  • Fructose
• Disaccharides


  • Lactose
  • Maltose
  • Sucrose
• Polysaccharides


  • Starch
  • Glycogen
  • Cellulose
• Reducing sugars


  Sugars that can be oxidized by mild oxidizing agents, have free aldehyde or ketone functional group
• Non-reducing sugars


  Sugars that are not oxidized by mild oxidizing agents
• Benedict's solution


  Used to test for the presence of reducing sugars
• Fehling's solution


  Used to test for the presence of reducing sugars
• Iodine test


  Used to test for the presence of starch (polysaccharide)
• Arthropods like insects and crustaceans have an exoskeleton made of the polysaccharide chitin
• Protein synthesis


  Process on how amino acids are assembled to form biomolecules called proteins
• Proteins


  Primary building materials of the body
• Proteins


  • Strong yet flexible
  • Have a complex 3D structure
  • Made up of hundreds or thousands of smaller units called amino acids attached in long chains
• Types of amino acids


  • 20 different types that can be combined to make a protein
• Common functions of proteins


  • Structural components
  • Chemical messengers
  • Disease defense
  • Enzymes
  • Transport and storage
• Structural components

  Provide structure and support for cells and allow the body to move
• Structural component proteins

  • Collagen
  • Keratin
  • Actin
  • Myosin
• Chemical messengers


  Transmit signals to coordinate biological processes between different cells, tissues and organs
• Chemical messenger proteins

  • Hormones (testosterone, estrogen, growth hormones)
  • Neuropeptides
• Disease defense


  Antibodies that bind to specific foreign particles like viruses and bacteria to protect the body
• Enzymes


  Biological molecules that significantly speed up the rate of chemical reactions within cells
• Enzymes


  • Amylase
  • Lipases
• Transport and storage


  Proteins that bind and carry atoms and small molecules within cells and throughout the body
• Every cell in the human body contains protein
• Protein is important for growth and development in children, teens and pregnant women
• Lipids


  Biomolecules that contain hydrocarbons and make up the building blocks of the structure and function of living cells
• Lipids


  • They are largely nonpolar in nature because they are hydrocarbons that include mostly nonpolar carbon-carbon or carbon-hydrogen bonds
  • Nonpolar molecules are hydrophobic or water-fearing or insoluble in water
• Major types of lipids

  • Fats and oils
  • Waxes
  • Phospholipids
  • Steroids
• Fat molecule


  Consists of two main components: glycerol and fatty acids
• Glycerol


  An organic compound with three carbons, five hydrogens, and three hydroxyl groups
• Fatty acid


  Has a long chain of hydrocarbons to which a carboxyl group is attached
• The number of carbons in the fatty acid may range from 4 to 36, with most common being 12 to 18 carbons
• Triglyceride


  Formed by the joining of three fatty acids to a glycerol backbone in a dehydration reaction, releasing three water molecules
• Saturated fatty acid


  Fatty acid chain with only single bonds between neighboring carbons