Intro to Biomolecules Flashcards
1
Q
List biological molecules? (5)
A
- sugars
- fatty acids
- steroids
- amino acids
- nucleotides
2
Q
Sugars?
A
- general structure (CH2O)n
- different shapes - structural isomers
- energy
- simple carbohydrates - carbohydrates - simple sugars
3
Q
Fatty acids?
A
- saturated (solid) or unsaturated (kink so liquid)
- hydrophilic or hydrophobic
- stored as triacyl glycerol (ester linkage to 3 glycerols - triglyceride)
- important components of cell membranes
4
Q
Steroids?
A
- 4 fused carbon rings - attached to others
- functional groups attached
5
Q
Amino acids?
A
- amino group (NH3+), carboxyl group (COO-), hydrogen, R-group (variant)
- polymerised via peptide bond
- r group variant determines structure of protein
- energy, neurotransmitters, precursors for other molecules
6
Q
Nucleotides?
A
- nitrogen ring linked to 5 carbon sugar
- ribose or deoxyribose
- phosphate groups
- base (adenine thymine guanine cytosine)
- short term energy store - ATP and GTP
- store of electrons - NAD, NADP
- cofactors for enzymes (coenzyme A)
- signalling molecules
- building blocks fo nucleic acid - DNA or RNA
7
Q
Examples of hybrid biomolecules?
A
- glycoprotein (sugar + protein)
- glycolipid (sugar + fat)
sugar stabilises
8
Q
What causes disease?
A
errors in protein folding
9
Q
What are viruses coated with?
A
glycoproteins - to avoid detection virus can alter sugars
