Biomolecules Flashcards
Biomolecules
carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nuclear acids
What are the Carbohydrates
- Are compounds containing carbon, oxygen and hydrogen
- aka sugar
- They can be classified as monossaccharides, polysaccharides and disaccharides
Monosaccharides
Principle source of energy for the cell
The most important one is the glucose
Polysaccharides
Can be a way to store energy, or provide stuctural support as cellulose and chitin
Proteins
Proteins arebuilt as chains of amino acids, which then fold into unique three-dimensional shapes.
* mechanical support
* catalysis of methabolic actions
Primary structure of a protein is….
defined by amino acid sequence
Lipids are..
Hydrophobic (non-polar molecules that do not mix with water) small molecules
The most common lipids are…
triglycerides and phospholipids, and they are used to store energy (they are the scructure of the cell membrane).
There are also the sterols, aka hormones.
Nucleotides and nuclear acids are..
DNA and RNA they are linear polymers of nucleotides
The seven main proteins are…
antibodies, contractile proteins, enzymes, hormonal proteins, structural proteins, storage proteins, and transport proteins.