Biological Molecules Flashcards
What are the classes of biomolecules?
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Lipids
Nucleic Acids
What are carbohydrates responsible for?
Main energy source for biological function
polyhydroxylated (multiple hydroxyl groups)
What do proteins do?
Many essential functions, DNA replication, cell signaling, metabolic reactions, enzymatic reactions, and membrane transport
What is the function of lipids?
hydrophobic structures responsible for membrane structure and energy storage
What is the function of nucleic acids?
storage and transfer of genetic information
How do carbohydrates provide energy?
They are highly oxygenated and provide energy through metabolism to ATP (glycolysis)
How can sugars/carbs be identified?
with the suffix -ose
How can a sugar be expressed in multiple units?
monosaccharide (1)
Disaccharide (2)
Polysaccharide (multiple)
At what point do you start using polysaccharide?
Up prefixes up to 10 then used poly
What is the difference between simple sugars and complex sugars?
simple sugars: straight chain and are easily broken down
complex sugars: sugars with branch chains not as easily broken down
How to tell if sugar is D -sugar or L-sugar?
Look at last hydroxyl group
(-OH)
Right side= D sugar
Left side= L sugar
Which sugar isomers are the natural sugars?
D sugars
What is the simplest sugar?
Glyceraldehyde
What is the difference between Fischer projections and Haworth projections?
Fischer projections are the open form of the sugar
Haworth projections are the closed form of the sugar (in a ring)
What so the sugars look like when they are diastereomers of eachother?
at least one OH group has changed the but not all of them
When is a sugar an Epimer of another sugar?
Only one OH has changed
When are sugars enantiomers?
All OH groups have switched sides
How do L-isomers look when in a structural Haworth projection?
Left side points up
Right side point down
What functional group is made when the last OH group circles to form a ring structure with the carbonyl group at the top?
Hemiacetal functional group
What are small biomolecules?
Sugars
Amino acids
Fatty acids
Nucleotides
What makes up an amino acid?
Amine functional group
Carboxylic acid functional group
Side chain
What bond links amino acids together
a type of amide bond called a peptide bond
What causes the turns in the amino acid structure?
Proline
What is the primary protein structure?
Amino acid sequence
What is the secondary protein structure?
Fixed polypeptide backbone
Alpha helix and beta sheets
What stabilizes alpha helixes?
Intramolecular hydrogen bonding
What stabilizes beta sheets?
Intermolecular hydrogen bonding
What is the tertiary structure of a protein?
Unique 3D shape held together by ionic bonding between charged side chains or amino acids
What is the quaternary structure of a protein?
Arrangement of multiple subunits into a larger structure
What bonds are present in tertiary and quaternary protein structures?
Ionic bonding
Hydrogen bonding
Dispersion forces
What are the groups of lipids?
Fatty acids
Glycerides
Non glycerides
Complex
What are the 2 types of fatty acids?
Saturated (no double bonds)
Unsaturated (double bonds)
What are eicosanoids and some examples?
Structurally related to hormone like biomolecules synthesized from arachadonic acid
No transport required
PG, leukotrienes, thromboxanes
What is the structure of a glyceride lipid?
3 member glycerol backbone with fatty acid attached
What is the role of glycerides?
Energy storage (more energy per gram than sugars)
lipid bilayer
Neutral vs ionic glycerides:
Neutral: triglycerides
Ionic: phosphoglyceride (negative charge on oxygen)
What are the different non-glycerides?
Spingolipids
Steroids
Waxes
What are sphingolipids?
In CNS tissue development, cell recognition, adhesions, toxin receptors
What are steroids?
Group of non-glyceride lipid called isoprenoids
Responsible for signaling
What are waxes?
Non-glyceride
Esters of fatty acids
Naturally found as protective coatings for plants/animals
Examples of complex lipids:
Lipoproteins- VLDL, LDL, HDL
Glycoproteins-membrane stability, intercellular interactions, site for pathogens to enter
What makes up a nucleic acid?
Heteroaromatic base
Ribose
Phosphate group
What is the end of a peptide called?
C-terminus: the ending carboxylic acid
What is the beginning of a peptide chain called?
N-terminus: amine functional group (usually NH2)
When do amino acids have positive charge?
The pH is less than the isoelectric point
What is it called when amino acid pH has a net charge of 0?
Zwitterionic form
When do amino acids have a negative charge?
When the pH is greater than the isoelectric point
What is the natural form of amino acids ?
L-amino acids
How can you tell if an amino acid is D or L?
NH2 group is:
Right side or on the dash= D amino acid
Left side or on a wedge= L amino acid
