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BIOCHEMISTRY…
The Chemistry of Life
 Bio Chemistry
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 Bio= life
 Chemistry = how things interact

 Biochemistry= the branch of science in which

you study the chemical and physical processes
that occur in an organism.
 Branches of Biochemistry
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1. Animal Biochemistry
- studies the chemical composition and chemical reaction
that occurs in the animal body
- covers studying animal metabolism, diseases, functions
of the cell and further generation.

2. Blood Biochemistry
- studies the structure and function of blood in living
organisms
 Branches of Biochemistry
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3. Cell Biology
- deals with the structure and function of the cell
concerned with a life cycle, physiological properties
, and signaling pathway

4. Enzymology
- studies the kinetics, structures and functions of
the enzymes

5. Genetics
- studies the genes, variation, and heredity
information of living organisms
 Branches of Biochemistry
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6. Immunology
- studies the immune system in a
living organism

7. Medical Biochemistry
- studies the chemical composition
and structure of human beings
 Branches of Biochemistry
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8. Molecular Biology
- deals with structure and function of macromolecules that
essential for life like proteins and nucleic acid

- study of the biology on a molecular level including the structure,

function, and makeup of biologically important molecules such
as DNA, RNA, and proteins

9. Plant Biochemistry
- studies the structure, functions and chemical reaction in the
plants
 History of Biochemistry
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Please watch this video for the history of Biochemistry

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpDx0DVJmeo
 Importance of Biochemistry to Society
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1. Agriculture
helps to control diseases in a field like in the
wheat field and rice field
pesticide and medicines are used in the field
helps to control diseases
 Importance of Biochemistry to Society
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2. Health and Medicine

Biochemistry used in medical sciences helps to
students to understand how chemical procedure
occur like a citric acid cycle, Krebs cycle, and
many more cycles occurred in the body.
 Importance of Biochemistry to Society
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3. Research and Laboratories

Genes, functions of genes, the formation of protein,
control of diseases by Genetic engineering, the study of
RNA, DNA all are the focus point in the research area

 In Lab Biochemistry- diagnosis of many diseases like HCV

, HBV and many more test are performed
 Importance of Biochemistry to Society
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4. Food Science and Industries

Biochemistry improves the quality of the
products which suit to the nutritional needs of the
people
Chemical Composition of the Living Organisms
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1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids
3. Proteins
4. Nucleic Acids
5. Acid and Bases
6. Water
7. Salts
 Why we need carbohydrates?
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 Main sources of energy

 Go food items
 Why lipids are important to living
organisms…
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 Long term storage of energy

Fat is the storage mechanism

 Formation of cell membranes

Nerves and brain tissue
Phospholipids and cholesterol
 Phospholipids have hydrophobic heads and
hydrophilic tails

 Hormones
Made of steroids
 What are the significance of proteins
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 Catalysis – enzymes
 Structural – keratin
 Transport – hemoglobin
 Toxins – rattle snake venom, ricin
 Contractile function – actin, myosin
 Hormones – insulin
 Storage Proteins – seeds and eggs
 Defensive proteins – antibodies
 Why nucleic acids are important to living
things…
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 DNA
Blueprint for life
Our genes

 RNA
Translates DNA to make PROTEINS
 Chemical Reactions
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Chemical reactions form or break bonds between atoms or

molecules

In biological systems, chemical reactions are accelerated by

enzymes

Atoms or molecules entering a chemical reaction are called

reactants; those leaving a reaction are products
 Chemical Equations
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 An arrow shows the direction of the chemical reaction;

reactants on the left, products on the right

 Chemical reactions written in balanced form (number of

each type of atom is the same on the left as on the right)
are known as chemical equations

 Example: Overall reaction of photosynthesis:

6 CO2 + 6 H2O → C6H12O6 + 6 O2

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

Chemical Reactions in the living organisms
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Examples
1. Respiration
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O

2. Photosynthesis
6 CO2 + 6 H2O → C6H12O6 + 6 O2

3. Lactic Acid Fermentation

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 → CO2 + Lactic acid + 2 ATP
 Properties of Water
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 In water, an oxygen atom forms polar covalent bonds with two

hydrogen atoms – the electrons are attracted much more
strongly to the oxygen nucleus than to the hydrogen nuclei

 The water molecule is asymmetric – the oxygen atom is

located on one side (δ-) and hydrogen atoms on the other (δ+)
– making the water molecule strongly polar

 The polar nature of water is the basis of its ability to adhere to

ions and weaken their attractions

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

Polarity in the Water Molecule
δ-

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H H
δ+ δ+

104.5o
Hydrogen Bonds and Properties of Water
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 Hydrogen bonds between water molecules produce a

water lattice that affects properties of density, heat
absorption, cohesion, and surface tension

 Polarity of water molecules contributes to formation of

distinct polar and nonpolar environments critical to cell
organization

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

 Hydrogen Bonds and Properties of Water
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 Water is a solvent for charged or polar molecules

Water molecules separate into hydrogen and

hydroxyl ions
 A Lattice of Hydrogen Bonds
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 Liquid water forms a water lattice – each water

molecule constantly breaks and reforms hydrogen-
bonds with its neighbors (average 3.4 bonds)

 An ice lattice is a rigid, crystalline structure in which

each water molecule forms four hydrogen bonds, which
spaces the water molecules farther apart than the water
lattice

 Ice is about 10% less dense than liquid water, an unusual

property that makes ice float – water reaches its
greatest density at a temperature of 4°C
Hydrogen Bond Lattices

A. Hydrogen-bond B. Hydrogen-bond
lattice of liquid lattice of ice
water

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

 Water and Temperature
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The hydrogen-bond lattice of liquid water retards the escape

of individual water molecules as water is heated

Water remains liquid in a wide temperature range (0°C to 100

°C) – a large amount of heat must be added to break enough
hydrogen bonds to make water boil

Water has a relatively high specific heat – it can absorb or

release relatively large quantities of heat energy without
undergoing extreme changes in temperature
 Specific Heat and Calories
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 Specific heat
Amount of heat energy required to increase the
temperature of a given quantity of water
Measured in calories

 calorie (or small calorie)

Heat energy required to raise 1 g of water by 1°C

 Calorie (with a capital C)

A kilocalorie (kcal) or 1,000 calories

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

 Heat of Vaporization
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 A large amount of heat (586 calories per gram) must be

added to give water molecules enough energy of motion to
break loose from liquid water and form a gas

 This required heat, known as heat of vaporization, allows

humans and many other organisms to cool off when hot
 Surface Tension
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 Water molecules at surfaces facing air can form

hydrogen bonds with water molecules beside and below
them, but not on the sides that face the air

 This unbalanced bonding places the surface water

molecules under tension (surface tension) making them
more resistant to separation than the underlying water
molecules

 Surface tension causes water to form water droplets,

and can support small insects and other objects

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

Creation of Surface Tension

A. Creation of surface tension by unbalanced hydrogen bonding

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Air Water surface H2O

Effects of Surface Tension
B. Spider supported by water’s surface tension

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 Water Ionization and Acids, Bases, and Buffers
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Water dissociates into positively charged hydrogen ions

(H+ or protons) and negative hydroxide ions (OH-)

H2O ↔ H + OH–

The reaction is reversible

In pure water, concentrations of H+ and OH– are equal

 Acids and Bases
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 Acids are proton donors that release H+ (and anions)

when they are dissolved in water, increasing the H+
concentration

Example: Hydrochloric acid (HCl) dissociates into H+ and

Cl– when dissolved in water (HCl ↔ H+ + Cl– )

 Bases are proton acceptors that reduce the H+

concentration of a solution; most release a hydroxide
ion (OH–) and a cation

Example: NaOH → Na+ + OH– ; excess OH– combines with

H+ to produce water (OH– + H+ → H2O)
Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014
 Acids and Bases (cont.)
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Some bases do not dissociate to produce hydroxide ions

directly

Example: Ammonia directly accepts a proton from water

to produce an ammonium ion and releasing a hydroxide
ion:

NH3 + H2O → NH4 + OH–

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

 pH
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The concentration of H+ ions in a water solution, compared with

the concentration of OH– ions, determines the acidity of the
solution

Acidity is measured using the pH scale – ranging from 0 to 14 –

based on logarithms of the number of H+ ions in solution:

pH = –log10[H+]

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

 pH
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) 0
The pH Scale
Gastric fluid (1.0–3.0) 1
Lemon juice, cola drinks, some acid rain 2
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Vinegar, wine, beer, oranges 3
Tomatoes 4
Bananas
Black coffee
Bread 5
Typical rainwater
Urine (5.0–7.0) 6
Milk (6.6)
Pure water [H+] = [OH–] 7
Blood (7.3–7.5)
Egg white (8.0) 8
Seawater (7.8–8.3)
Baking soda
Phosphate detergents, bleach, antacids 9
Soapy solutions, milk of magnesia 10
Household ammonia (10.5–11.9) 11

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Hair remover
Oven cleaner 13
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) 14
 Buffers
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 Buffers are substances that compensate for pH changes by

absorbing or releasing H+

 When H+ ions are released in excess, buffers combine with

them and remove them from the solution; if the
concentration of H+ decreases greatly, buffers release
additional H+

 Most buffers are weak acids or bases that dissociate

reversibly in water solutions to release or absorb H+ or OH–

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014

 Carbonic Acid -
Bicarbonate Buffer System
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 A carbonic acid–bicarbonate buffer system buffers blood pH

 In a reversible reaction, carbonic acid (H2CO3), a weak acid,

dissociates into bicarbonate ions (HCO3) and H+:

H2CO3 ↔ HCO3– + H+
 Each buffer has a specific range of greatest buffering
capacity – interestingly, normal blood pH (7.4) is outside the
region of greatest buffering capacity for this buffer system

Source: Cell Biology, Cengage Learning 2014