respiration – glucose is the main respiratory substrate of most organisms. Carbohydrates are a convenient form in which to store chemical energy; storage carbohydrates include: ✔ starch in plants ✔ glycogen in animals Some carbohydrates are used to build structures; structural carbohydrates include: ✔ cellulose, which is the main constituent of the primary cell wall of plants ✔ chitin, which occurs in the cell walls of fungi and in the exoskeletons of insects ✔ peptidoglycan, which occurs in bacterial cell walls Types of carbohydrates - Monosaccharides - Disaccharide - Polysaccharides Monosaccharides - are the simplest carbohydrates. - A monosaccharide molecule can be thought of as a single sugar unit. - Monosaccharides can be classified according to how many carbon atoms are present in the molecule. A triose - monosaccharide has three carbon atoms - Formula C3H6O3. - Glycerate phosphate is a triose important in photosynthesis. A pentose - monosaccharide has five carbon atoms - Formula C5H10O5. - Ribose is found in RNA nucleotides. A hexose - monosaccharide has six carbon atoms - Formula C6H12O6. - Glucose is the hexose produced in photosynthesis and used in respiration. ✔ There are several different trioses, pentoses and hexoses. Each triose has the same number of each kind of atom (hence the formula C3H6O3), but the atoms are put together in a different way. They are isomers of each other. The same is true for the pentoses and hexoses. ✔ Monosaccharides can be classified in a different way – according to ✔ the functional group that they possess. - There are two functional groups in monosaccharides: the aldehyde group with the formula CHO (monosaccharides with this group are aldoses), and the ketone group, with the formula C=O (monosaccharides with this group are ketoses). -The straight chain form of glucose can produce two different ring forms – α-glucose and β-glucose. Organic molecules Carbohydrates - All carbohydrates contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. - The hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a carbohydrate molecule are present in the ratio of two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom. - Carbohydrates range from very small molecules containing only 12 atoms, to very large molecules containing thousands of atoms. Disaccharide - Carbohydrate molecules are made by two monosaccharide molecules joining together. - For example, a molecule of: o Maltose:- is derived from two α-glucose molecules o Sucrose:- is derived from an α-glucose molecule and a fructose molecule o Lactose:- (milk sugar) is derived from a β-glucose molecule and an α-galactose molecule. - The bond that holds the two monosaccharide units together is a glycosidic bond - When a glycosidic bond is formed between carbon atom 1 of one α-glucose molecule and carbon atom 4 of the other α-glucose molecule. The full name of the bond is, therefore, a α-1,4-glycosidic bond. Polysaccharides • are complex carbohydrates. • Starch is a polymer of α-glucose. • Some polysaccharides are storage molecules. Starch • is not a single compound but a mixture of amylose and amylopectin. • Both are polymers of α-glucose, but the arrangement of the α-glucose monomers in these compounds is different. Amylose • is a linear molecule containing many hundreds of α-glucose molecules joined by α-1,4-glycosidic bonds. Why starch stains blue or black or blue-black with iodine? The amylose molecule winds itself into a helix when in contact with water. This allows a reaction to occur between the starch and the iodine solution. Rows of iodine atoms sit inside the amylose helix. This changes the light-absorbing properties of both, so that the amylose–iodine complex appears blue. Starches in different plants have different proportions of amylose and amylopectin. This results in different shades of blue-black with the iodine test, because only the amylose reacts with iodine. Amylopectin ✔ has a linear ‘backbone’ of α-glucose molecules joined by α-1,4-glycosidic bonds. ✔ there are also side branches. These occur at certain points along the chain when a glucose molecule forms an α-1,6-glycosidic bond with another glucose molecule as well as the usual α-1,4-glycosidic bond. ✔ The branched nature of amylopectin means that there are many ‘ends’ to the molecule. This allows it to be quickly hydrolysed by enzymes acting at the ends of the chains to release glucose for respiration. How the structure of starch is suited to its function Starch is a plant storage carbohydrate. How does its structure suit it to this function? • Both amylose and amylopectin are compact molecules, so many α-glucose molecules can be stored in a small space, without affecting cell metabolism. • Both amylose and amylopectin are insoluble. • If soluble glucose were stored (instead of first being converted to starch), it would draw water, by osmosis, from neighbouring cells and from organelles within the cell. Insoluble starch produces none of these effects. • In addition, because amylose and amylopectin are insoluble, the molecules cannot move out of cells – they remain in storage organs. • The branched nature of amylopectin means that there are many ‘ends’ to the molecule. Therefore, starch can be quickly hydrolysed (by enzymes acting at the ends of the chains) to release glucose for respiration. Glycogen is a storage carbohydrate in animal cells. It has a similar structure to that of amylopectin, but there are more α-1,6 links, making it much more highly branched. Because of this, it can be hydrolysed even more quickly to release glucose for respiration. This is important because animals have a higher metabolic rate than plants and need to release energy more quickly to ‘drive’ their metabolic processes. Cellulose is a polymer of β-glucose molecules joined by β-1,4- glycosidic bonds, formed by condensation reactions. However, because of the different position of the H and OH groups on carbon atom 1 compared to α-glucose, Many cellulose molecules lie side by side and hydrogen-bond to each other. This results in the formation of cellulose microfibrils. Many of these microfibrils bond together to form bigger fibres or fibrils, which make up the structure of cell walls. Lipids ✔ contain only the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but they contain much less oxygen than carbohydrates. ✔ are a varied group of compounds that include: A. triglycerides B. phospholipids C. waxes
✔ some lipids have quite large molecules, they are not
polymers and, in many cases, their molecules are relatively small. ✔ ‘The feature that they all share is that are all made from fatty acids and alcohols. Triglycerides
• A triglyceride molecule is an ester formed from one molecule
of glycerol and three fatty acid molecules. • Triglycerides have several functions including: - respiratory substrate - thermal insulation - buoyancy - waterproofing Glycerol
• is a polyhydroxy alcohol. This means it
contains more than one hydroxyl (–OH) group. • Ethanol, the alcohol in beer and wine, has the formula C H OH. 2 5
• It is a monohydroxy alcohol and contains only
one hydroxyl group: fatty acid • A fatty acid molecule consists of a covalently bonded hydrocarbon chain, at the end of which is a carboxyl group, which has acidic properties. • The hydrocarbon chain is non-polar (this means that it has no charge). The carboxyl group (the functional group of the fatty acid) is ionic and dissociates in solution to form COO– and H+ (hydrogen ion). • The nature of the hydrocarbon chains in fatty acids can differ in two main ways: - The number of carbon atoms in the chains can vary. - Hydrocarbon chains with the same number of carbon atoms can have different numbers of hydrogen atoms. saturated fatty acid • all the carbon–carbon bonds in the hydrocarbon chain are single bonds monounsaturated fatty acid one of the carbon–carbon bonds is a double bond polyunsaturated fatty acid more than one carbon–carbon bond is a double bond ester bond the bond that forms between a carboxyl group and a hydroxyl group Phospholipids
• are formed when two fatty acid molecules are
bonded to the glycerol and the place of the third is taken by a phosphate group. • there are two distinct regions to a phospholipid molecule: o a hydrophilic (water-loving) region, consisting of the phosphate ‘head’ o a hydrophobic (water-hating) region, consisting of the hydrocarbon ‘tails’ Waxes formed from fatty acids and long-chain alcohols Proteins • are extremely important substances that are needed to form all living cells. • Their molecules contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (like carbohydrates and lipids), but they also contain nitrogen and most contain sulphur. • Protein molecules are polymers of amino acids and so are macromolecules also. • vary enormously in size; the smallest protein molecules contain fewer than 100 amino acids, whilst the largest contain several thousand. Proteins have a range of functions; they are important in: ✔ the structure of plasma membranes – protein molecules form ion channels, transport proteins and surface receptors for hormones, neurotransmitters and other molecules ✔ the immune system – antigen and antibody molecules are proteins ✔ the control of metabolism by enzymes – all enzymes are proteins. ✔ the structure of chromosomes – DNA is wound around molecules of the protein histone to form a chromosome All amino acid molecules are built around a carbon atom (the α-carbon) to which is attached: a hydrogen atom an amino group (–NH ) 2
a carboxyl group (–COOH)
an ‘R’ group, which represents the other atoms in the molecule, such as a single hydrogen atom, a hydrocarbon chain or a more complex structure amino acids
are the building blocks of proteins and have two
functional groups – the amino group and the carboxyl group. This allows them to behave both as a base and as an acid ❖ peptide bond the bond that links two amino acids ❖ polypeptide a linear polymer consisting of amino acid residues bonded together in a chain forming a part or all of a protein molecule ❖ primary structure the sequence formed by amino acids • Many amino acids joined by peptide bonds form a polypeptide chain; this sequence of amino acids is the primary structure of the protein. • Once formed, the polypeptide chain folds itself into a secondary structure, which is either an α-helix or a β-pleated sheet. • A protein molecule can also have a tertiary structure. This involves further folding of the secondary structure and the formation of new bonds to hold the tertiary structure in place. Each protein has a unique tertiary structure and so has a unique configuration (shape) because: ✔ the primary structure of each protein is coded for by DNA, which determines the type and position of each amino acid in the polypeptide chain ✔ the secondary structure of the molecule is the consequence of its primary structure; some sections of the primary structures form α-helices, others form β-pleated sheets, and ✔ the secondary structure determines where ionic and hydrogen bonds and disulphide bridges form, so it determines the tertiary structure and shape of the protein molecule. The tertiary structure of a protein is unique and this gives each protein a specific function. For example: ✔ the shape of the active site of an enzyme molecule lets it bind with only one substrate and catalyse only one reaction ✔ the shape of a hormone receptor in the plasma membrane of some cells allows the hormone to bind with this receptor and to target only cells that have this receptor ✔ the shape of an antibody means it can bind with and destroy just one antigen ▪ Some proteins have yet another level of organisation called the quaternary structure. In these proteins two, or more, polypeptide chains folded into a tertiary structure become associated in the final structure of the protein. Two important examples are haemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying molecule found in red blood cells) and collagen (the fibrous protein found in many tissues in mammals). Proteins are classified into two main groups, according to their molecular shapes: ❖ fibrous proteins that have a tertiary structure that resembles a long string or fibre (for example, collagen and keratin) ❖ globular proteins that have a tertiary structure that resembles a globule or ball (for example, enzymes and receptor proteins). Nucleic acids Biologists discovered two different types of nucleic acid at the end of the nineteenth century: ❖ DNA or DeoxyriboNucleic Acid – DNA is the nucleic acid found in chromosomes. Each gene is a short section of DNA that codes for a specific protein and, as a result, determines a particular feature. DNA is the genetic material.
❖ RNA or RiboNucleic Acid – RNA is a nucleic acid found both in the
nucleus and the cytoplasm. Different types of RNA are involved in allowing a specific gene (DNA) to produce the protein it codes for. All nucleotides have the same three components: a phosphate group a pentose sugar (deoxyribose in DNA nucleotides and ribose in RNA nucleotides), and one of four nitrogenous bases – Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine and either Thymine (DNA) or Uracil (RNA). DNA is a huge molecule made up of two strands of nucleotides wound into a double helix. RNA is much smaller and is single-stranded. Biochemical tests for a range of biological molecules. starch reducing sugars non-reducing sugars lipids proteins.