Scribd
Upload
31 views

The Chemical Components of Cells

The document summarizes the key macromolecules found in human cells: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. It describes the structures and functions of these macromolecules, including their monomer and polymer subunits. Specifically, it explains that carbohydrates include monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides; lipids include fats, phospholipids, and steroids; and nucleic acids are made of nucleotides that polymerize to form DNA and RNA. The macromolecules serve essential roles in energy storage, structure, and heredity.

Uploaded by

api-19824406
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
31 views

The Chemical Components of Cells

The document summarizes the key macromolecules found in human cells: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. It describes the structures and functions of these macromolecules, including their monomer and polymer subunits. Specifically, it explains that carbohydrates include monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides; lipids include fats, phospholipids, and steroids; and nucleic acids are made of nucleotides that polymerize to form DNA and RNA. The macromolecules serve essential roles in energy storage, structure, and heredity.

Uploaded by

api-19824406
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 34

LECTURE 2

The Chemical Components of


Cells
Campbell & Reece. 7th Edn. Ch 5, pp. 68-80, 86-89

By
Dr Mohamed Abumaree
Molecular Reproductive Biology & Immunology
College of Medicine
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science
Riyadh
2009

1
Objectives
1.To know macromolecules in human cells

2.To recognize the structures of


macromolecules

3.To know the functions of macromolecules

2
Macromolecules
 Four types of macromolecules:
1) Carbohydrates
2) Lipids
3) Proteins
4) Nucleic acids

 NOT all macromolecules are polymers: a repeating


units of monomers: building blocks linked by covalent
bonds
3
 Polymers: made by
a dehydration
reaction: 2
monomers are
covalently added to
each other & H2O
molecule is lost

 Each monomer contributes to the lost of water


molecule: One provides OH group & other provides H
 Dehydration reaction is repeated to form a polymer
with the help of energy & enzymes
4
Polymers are disassembled to monomers by
hydrolysis reaction (bonds broken)
5
 The digestion process in humans is an example of
hydrolysis

1. The hydrolysis of organic components in our food


(polymers) releases monomers

2. Then monomers are absorbed into the


bloodstream and distributed to all body cells

1. Also, cells can assemble monomers into new


polymers (differ from the digested ones) to
perform specific functions required by the cell

6
Carbohydrates

Monosaccharides Polysaccharides

Disaccharides

7
Monosaccharides
 Simple or single sugars. For example, glucose
 Classification according to:
1.The carbon skeletons length or
2.The arrangement around asymmetric
carbons,
carbons a carbon attached to 4 different
partners or
3.The location of carbonyl group
8
9
 Monosaccharides,
Monosaccharides particularly glucose, are
major:
1.Nutrients for cells
2.Fuel for cellular work
3.Raw materials for amino & fatty acids synthesis

Not used sugar molecules will be incorporated


into disaccharides/polysaccharides

10
Disaccharide

 2 monosaccharides are joined covalently (a glycosidic


linkage) to form a disaccharide (a dehydration
reaction). Examples:

1. Lactose (milk) consists of glucose & galactose


2. Sucrose (sugar) consists of glucose & fructose
11
Polysaccharides
Monosaccharides are joined
together by glycosidic linkages to
form polysaccharides

12
Storage Polysaccharides
 Example:
1. Starch in plant
2. Glycogen in animals (Humans)
 Glycogen is hydrolyzed into glucose when
there is a demand for sugar
 In humans, glycogen stores are depleted in
about a day unless they are replenished by
food consumption
13
Structural Polysaccharides
 Cellulose (insoluble fiber) (plant cell wall)

 NOT all organisms can digest cellulose

 Cellulose is an important part of a healthful diet

 Humans cannot digest cellulose:


 But cellulose aids in the smooth passage of
food through the digestive tract in order to
be eliminated with the feces
14
Lipids
 Macromolecules but NOT polymers
 Hydrophobic (Little or no affinity for water)
 Have some polar bonds associated with
oxygen,
 But they consist mostly of hydrocarbons
 Biologically important types of lipids:
Fats, phospholipids, & steroids

15
Fat
Constructed
from a glycerol
(alcohol) &
fatty acids

 A fatty acid has a carboxyl (functional) group


attached to a long nonpolar hydrocarbon chain
(16/18 carbon atoms in length)
16
Triacylglycerol (triglyceride)
Constructed from 3 fatty acids molecules,
molecules each is joined
to a glycerol by an ester linkage (a bond between –OH & a
carboxyl group, one water molecule is released

17
Saturated Fatty Acid
 No double bonds between carbon atoms (so many
hydrogen atoms are bonded to the carbon skeleton; so
saturated with hydrogen)
hydrogen

 Most animal fats (such as butter) are solid at room


temperature (RT)

18
Unsaturated Fatty Acid
 One/more cis double bonds
 Example, plant & fish fats
 Liquid at room temperature

19
Cis Fat (Naturally found)
H H
| |
-C = C-

Hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the


chain of carbon atoms at the carbon-carbon
double bond
20
 Hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans double
bonds):
 Unsaturated fats are synthetically converted to
saturated fats (Peanut butter, margarine…)

 Saturated fats may contribute to the


cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis)

 But trans fat may contribute more than


saturated fats to atherosclerosis & other
problems

21
Trans Fat
(Synthetically Made)

Hydrogen atoms are on


H
opposite sides of the chain |
of carbon atoms at the -C = C-
carbon-carbon double |
bond H

22
The major function of fats is energy
storage

A gram of fat stores more than twice


as much energy as a gram of a
polysaccharide, such as starch
23
Phospholipids
 Composed of 2 fatty
acids,
acids glycerol,
glycerol
phosphate group & a
small molecules, such as
choline (charged/polar)

 Phospholipid diversity
is based on differences in
fatty acids & polar
groups 24
 Phospholipids show ambivalent behavior toward water,
because phospholipids have:
1. Hydrophilic (polar) head
2. Two hydrophobic (non-polar) tails
25
Steroids

 Have a carbon
skeleton consisting
of 4 rings attached to
different functional
groups

 Many hormones (sex hormones) are steroids produced


from cholesterol
 So, cholesterol is a essential in animals, although a high
level of it in the blood may contribute to atherosclerosis
26
Nucleic acids (Polynucleotides)

 Nucleic acids consist of


nucleotide monomers

 Composed of
nitrogenous base, pentose
and phosphate group

 A nucleoside: a
nucleotide without a
phosphate group
27
Nitrogenous Bases

NO oxygen atom on
the second carbon in
the ring of
deoxyribose
28
• Because the atoms in both the nitrogenous
base & the sugar are numbered, the sugar atoms
have a prime (′) after the number to distinguish
them

Deoxyribose in DNA Ribose in RNA

29
Nucleotide Polymers
 The phosphate group is
attached to the 5′ carbon of the
sugar giving a nucleotide

 Nucleosides are joined


covalently (phosphodiester
linkages:
linkages between the –OH group
on the 3′ carbon of one nucleotide
& the phosphate on the 5′ carbon
of the next) 30
 There are 2 free ends of the
polymer:

1. One end has a phosphate


attached to a 5′ carbon (5′ end )

2. The other end has a hydroxyl


group on a 3′ carbon (3′ end)

 So, DNA strand has a built-in


directionality along its sugar-
phosphate backbone, from 5′ to 3′

31
 The sugar phosphate backbone
are attached to the nitrogenous
bases

 The sequence of bases along a


DNA polymer is unique for each
gene

 The of bases in a gene specifies


the protein’s structure & function
in the cell
32
DNA molecules have 2 polynucleotides (double helix)

The double helix run in opposite 5′ → 3′ directions


from each other (antiparallel)
 The bases are held
together by hydrogen
bonds

 Compatibility:

 A pairs with T

 G pairs with C

You might also like