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Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are compounds of tremendous biological importance:
they provide energy through oxidation
they supply carbon for the synthesis of cell components
they serve as a form of stored chemical energy
they form part of the structures of some cells and tissues
Carbohydrates, along with lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and other compounds are known as biomolecules because they are closely associated with living organisms. Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of biomolecules and living organisms.
Monosaccharides contain a single polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone unit (saccharo is Greek for “sugar”) (e.g., glucose, fructose)
Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharide units linked together by a covalent bond (e.g., sucrose).
Polysaccharides contain very long chains of hundreds or thousands of monosaccharide units, which may be either in straight or branched chains (e.g., cellulose, glycogen, starch).
Lipids
Proteins
Primary Structure
Primary Structure: The unique sequence of amino acids that makes up a protein or polypeptide chain.
Carbohydrates are compounds of tremendous biological importance:
they provide energy through oxidation
they supply carbon for the synthesis of cell components
they serve as a form of stored chemical energy
they form part of the structures of some cells and tissues
Carbohydrates, along with lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, and other compounds are known as biomolecules because they are closely associated with living organisms. Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of biomolecules and living organisms.
Monosaccharides contain a single polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone unit (saccharo is Greek for “sugar”) (e.g., glucose, fructose)
Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharide units linked together by a covalent bond (e.g., sucrose).
Polysaccharides contain very long chains of hundreds or thousands of monosaccharide units, which may be either in straight or branched chains (e.g., cellulose, glycogen, starch).
Lipids
- Lipids are made of the elements Carbon , Hydrogen and Oxygen, although they have a much lower proportion of water than other molecules such as Carbohydrates. They are insoluable in water
- Lipids perform many functions, such as:
- Energy Storage
- Making Biological Membranes
- Insulation
- Protection - e.g. protecting plant leaves from drying up
- Boyancy
- Acting as hormones
- They are made from two molecules: Glycerol and Fatty Acids.
- A Glycerol molecule is made up from three Carbon atoms with a Hydroxyl Group attached to it and Hydrogen atoms occupying the remaining positions.
Proteins
Primary Structure
- Proteins are made up of polypeptide chains, which are amino acids joined together with peptide bonds. The unique sequence of amino acids that make up a protein or polypeptide chain is called the Primary Structure.
Primary Structure: The unique sequence of amino acids that makes up a protein or polypeptide chain.
- Peptide bonds are created by enzyme catalysed condensation reactions and broken down by enzyme catalysed hydrolysis reactions. Breaking down proteins is important in many areas of the body, not merely in digestion.
- For example, in hormone regulation, cells that are targeted by hormones contain enzymes to break down those hormones. This stops their effects from being permanent and allows them to be controlled.