Midterm Flashcards
Define biochemistry
The science concerned with the chemistry of biological processes
The study of life at the molecular level
The application of chemistry to the study of biological processes at the cellular and molecular levels
Describe cells
Basic building blocks of life
Smallest living unit of a cell
Grow, reproduce, use energy, adapt, respond to their environment
Most cannot be seen with naked eye
Cell may be an entire organism of may be one of billions
What are bio-molecules?
Building blocks of cell
What are the major classes of small bio-molecules?
Simple sugars
Amino acid
Nucleotide
Fatty acid
Describe amino acids
Building blocks of protein
20 commonly occurring
Contains amino group and carbonyl group and r group
What do r groups do?
Determine the chemical properties of amino acids
Describe sugars
Make up carbohydrates
Basic unit is a monosaccharide
What are the functions of sugars?
Store fuel/energy in the form of starch or glycogen
Provide energy
Supply carbon for synthesis
Form structural components in cells and tissues
Intracellular communications
Describe fatty acids
Are monocarboxylic acids and contain even numbers of C atoms
Saturated and unsaturated
Components of several lipid molecules
What are the functions of fatty acids?
Storage of fuel/energy in the form of fat
Membrane structures
Insulation
Synthesis of hormones
Define metabolism
Total sum of the chemical reactions happening in a living organism
Anabolism and catabolism
Define anabolism and catabolism
Anabolism: energy requiring biosynthetic pathways
Catabolism: degradation of fuel molecules and the production of energy for cellular function
What is true about all biochemical reactions?
All are catalyzed by enzymes
What are the primary functions of metabolism?
Acquisition and utilization of energy
Synthesis of molecules needed for cellular structures and functions
Removal of waste products
What are some frequent reactions encountered in biochemical processes?
- Nucleophilic substitution: one atom of group substituted for another
- Elimination reactions: double bond is formed when atoms in a molecule are removed
- Addition reactions: two molecules combine to form a single product (hydration reaction)
- Isomerization reactions: involve intramolecular shift of atoms or groups
- Redox: transfer of electrons from a donor to an acceptor
- Hydrolysis: cleavage of double bond by water
How do cells remain organized?
Living cells are unstable and are in steady-state
A constant flow of energy prevents them from becoming disorganized
How do cells obtain energy?
Mainly by the oxidation of bio-molecules (electrons transferred from 1 molecule to another in doing so they lose energy)
Describe the transformation of energy from the sun to heterotrophs
Sunlight is captured phototrophs
Autotrophs use energy and electrons from inorganic molecules to reduce CO2 to organic compounds (carbon from CO2)
Heterotrophs oxidize these organic carbon sources to obtain energy and carbon (carbon from organic compounds)
How does life drive unfavourable reactions forward?
Uses chemical coupling
How does the complex structure of cells maintain high internal order?
- Synthesis of bio-molecules
- Transport Across membranes
- Cell movement
- Waste removal
How much of a cell is made up of H, O, N, and C?
> 95%
What are geometric isomers?
Configuration is restricted by double bonds
Different bond connectivity
What are stereoisomers and what are the two types?
Have the same bonds and atoms, different configuration around a chiral center
Enantiomers: mirror images
Diastereomers: stereoisomers that are not mirror images
What occurs when you change the configuration of a molecule?
It alters its ability to interact with proteins and therefore its biological activity
What does free energy depend on?
Depends on temperature, change in intrinsic energy of molecules, and change in entropy
What is occurring when 🔺G >0, <0, and =0
<0: spontaneous (exergonic)
>0: energy is required (endergonic)
=0: at equilibrium
* energy released by an exergonic reaction can drive an endergonic reaction *
What do enzymes do?
Accelerate reaction rates by lowering activation energy
Define catabolic and anabolic pathways
Catabolic: release energy and are used to produce ATP
Anabolic: hydrolyse ATP to synthesize cellular molecules
Define cohesion and adhesion
Cohesion: attraction to other water molecules
- responsible for surface tension
Adhesion: attraction to other substances
- water is adhesive to any substance with which it can hydrogen bond
- adhesion to hydrophilic substances
How does water storing heat effect its physical chemistry?
High specific heat and high heat of vapourization
Define specific heat and heat of vapourization
Specific heat: amount of heat that must be absorbed or expended to change the temperature of 1g of a substance 1C
Heat of vapourization: amount of energy required to change 1g of liquid water into a gas
Is water polar or non-polar? Why?
Polar with a dipole moment
Due to difference in electronegativity between oxygen and hydrogen
What are hydrogen bonds?
Non-covalent weak interactions
One H2O molecule can form up to four hydrogen bonds between hydrogen donor and each lone pair on electron acceptor
Attractive interaction between dipoles when the positive end is a hydrogen atom bonded to an atom of high electronegativity and the negative end of the other dipole is an atom with a lone pair of electrons
Why is water a good insulator?
Lots of heat is needed to break H-bonds and raise the water temperature
Why does water participate in many chemical reactions?
It is electron rich
It is a weak nucleophile
It is present in high concentrations
Define electronegativity
A measure of the force of an atoms attraction for electrons it shares in a chemical bond with another atom
What does the attraction between a bonding pair of electrons and a nucleus depend on?
Number of protons in the nucleus
Distance from the nucleus
Amount of screening by inner electrons
How does electronegativity effect polarity?
A small electronegativity difference leads to a polar covalent bonds
A large electronegativity difference leads to an ionic bond
What unique properties does hydrogen bonding in water give rise to?
Cohesion and adhesion
High specific heat and heat of vaporization
Ice is less dense
Versatile solvent
Why is water as effective solvent?
It can form hydrogen bonds
Water clings to polar molecules causing them to be soluble in water (hydrophilic)
Water tends to exclude nonpolar molecules (hydrophobic)
Define amphipathic
Molecules that contain one or more hydrophilic regions
Ex. Lipids
What is a micelle?
Hydrophobic tails at the centre forming a ball exuding water
What is the underlying principles to the solvent properties of water?
Electrostatic attraction of unlike changes
Eg the positive dipole of water for the negative dipole of another molecule
What are the different types of interactions?
Ion-dipole: KCl dissolved in water
Dipole-dipole: ethanol dissolved in water
Dipole dipole induced: weakens and generally do not lead to solubility in water
Define pH
Expressed hydrogen ion concentration in a solution
Define acids and bases
Acids: dissociate in water to increase the concentration of H
Bases: combine with H ions when dissolved in water thus decreasing H concentration
What do buffers do?
Act as a reservoir for hydrogen ions donating or removing them from a solution as necessary
Define buffers
A weka acid plus it’s conjugate base that cause a solution to resist changes in pH when an acid or base are added
How is the effectiveness of a buffer determined?
- The pH of the solution, buffers work best within 1 pH unit above and below their pka
- The concentration of the buffer; the more present the greater the capacity
How do buffers work?
If a strong acid is added to a buffer, the base component (X-) neutralizes it and the reaction goes to completion
If a strong bases is added, the acid component (HX) neutralizes it and the reaction goes to completion
What occurs during a titration?
Adding a strong base to a weak acid solution will progressively convert more and more HA to A-
What is buffer capacity?
The ability of a solution to resist change in pH
When does the most effective buffering occur?
Solution pH=buffer pka
At this point [weak acid]=[congujage base]
What are the 6 elements of life?
C, H, N, O, P, and S
What are organic molecules?
Chains of carbon atoms with other atoms or groups attached
Why is carbon the basic building block of life?
Can form an almost infinite number of compounds as a result of its capacity to make as many as four highly stable bonds
Can be tetrahedral, trigonal, or linear
Give the definition of a molecule
2 or more atoms, covalently bonded in specific proportions according to stoichiometry with a unique geometry
What are stereoisomers?
Isomers with the same molecular formula and same connectivity of atoms but different arrangement of atoms in space
What are the two types of stereoisomers?
Enantiomers: nonsuperimposable mirror images of each other
Diasteromers: are not mirror images of each other
What are constitutional isomers?
Isomers whose atoms have a different connectivity
What is a chiral molecule?
Not superimposable on its mirror image
Can exist as a pair of enantiomers
Why is chirality important?
The binding specificity of a chiral receptor site for a chiral molecule is usually only favourable in one way
What is a Fischer projection?
2D représentation of chiral molecules
Virtical lines represent bonds that project behind the plane of the paper
Horizontal lines represent bonds that project out of the plane of the paper
What are the functions of proteins?
Catalysis Chemical storage and transport Structure Mechanical work Information storage and retrieval Intercellular communication Défense
What is an amino acid?
A compound that contains both an amino group and a carboxyl group
What is an alpha amino acid?
An amino acid in which the amino group is on the carbon adjacent to the carboxyl group
How many common amino acids have a chiral alpha carbon atom?
19/20
Which amino acids have 2 chiral carbons?
Threonine and isoleucine
What form are proteins assembled in?
L
Most carbohydrates are D
How many amino acids are S and what are the ones that are R?
19/20
Cysteine
Describe amino acids
Colourless, crystalline, water soluble substances
R group gives individuality
What are some important properties of amino acids?
- They have the capacity to polymerize
- They have interesting acid base properties
- The have varied structure and chemical functionality
- They are chiral
What are ampholytes?
Act as either an acid or a base
Zwitterions
Have extremely high melting temperatures
What is a zwitterion?
Molecules that have both a positive and negative charge
No net charge
What is the Isoelectric point?
The pH at which the zwitterion is the prédominent form
pI=1/2(pka1 + pka2)
Why does the same carboxyl group have different pka values?
The pka is related to the dissociation constant ka
The equilibrium of proton dissociation from a chemical group is influenced by its chemical environment. Thus the dissociation constant of a carboxyl group is different when it is in a different chemical environment
What are the most useful and commonly used characteristics of amino acids?
Hydrophobicity Size Charge Secondary structure preference Alcoholicity Aromaticity
Why is hydrophobicity the most important characteristic of amino acids?
It is the hydrophobic effect that drives proteins towards folding
Why does hydrophobicity drive protein folding?
Water does not like hydrophobic surfaces
When a protein folds, exposed hydrophobic side chains get buried and release water of its sad duty to sit against the hydrophobic surfaces of these side chains
What make up the secondary structures of protein?
Alpha helices, beta strands, beta turns and loops
Name some types of protein modification
- Acetylation of N-terminal
- Proline and lysine oxidized to hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine
- Carboxylation of glutamate residues
- Glycosylation
- Phosphorylation
- Farnesylation
- Post-synthesis cleavage
- Glycation
What does post-synthesis modifications to protein structure do?
Add precision to the regulation of the protein activity inside and outside the cell
What are essential amino acids?
Amino acids that the body cannot metabolize or make on its own in sufficient quantities
Must be obtained through diet
What are steric interactions?
Two atoms cannot occupy the same region of space simultaneously
When two atoms are brought very close:
- electron clouds of atoms overlap
- Paulo exclusion principle begins to apply
How are short range repulsion and interatomic distance related?
Short range repulsion has an exponential dependence on interatomjc distance
What occurs when a peptide bond is formed?
The formation of a peptide bond results in the liberation of one molecule per two amino acids condensed
Too slow to be accomplished in a living cell without the aid of enzymes
What does the fact that a peptide bond is métastable mean?
The favoured reaction at RT in aqueous solution is hydrolysis of the peptide bond
However this is very slow so catalysis can occur via acid or base and is provided by proteolytic enzymes or pro teases
Why does a peptide bond have a partial double bond characteristic?
Délocalisation of Pi electron orbitals gives it this
How does resonance effect a peptide bond?
Causes it to be rigid, planar structure
What configuration are peptide bonds generally?
Trans is favourable configuration particularly with bulky R groups
What is involved in protein synthesis?
Coupling of ATP hydrolysis is involved
What are the terminals on a polypeptide called?
Amino or N terminus
Carboxyl or C terminus
What is the difference between an amino acid residue and a free amino acid
An amino acid residue is bound to an R group
What is an oligopeotide?
Peptides with only a few AA residues
What are some characteristics of the sequences of amino acids in a protein?
A unique characteristic of every protein
Encoded by the nucleotide sequence of DNA
A form of genetic information
Read from the amino terminus to the carboxyl terminus
How does a MALDI mass spectrometer work?
Ions are generated by a laser firing at the target plate
The time of firing of the laser and the arrival time of the ions at the detector are known, the relative masses can then be calculated
Only singly charged ions are generated, other types may generate multiply charges ions
What are sequence databases?
International databases of protein sequences
What is solid-phase peptide synthesis?
A clinical, three step process
Involves the successive addition of amino acids to create a linear peptide chain
The c terminus is covalently bound to a solid support or resin during synthesis
What three chemical reactions are repeated for each amino acid added to the peptide chain?
- Deprotection
- Activation
- Coupling
What are the steps to the merrifield solid phase synthesis technique?
- Anchoring C-terminal amino acid to the support resin
2 deblocking and condensation - Release of peptide from the resin
What are the fundamental properties of biological macromolecules?
Stereospecificity Structural flexibility Multivalency Allostery Reversible covalent modifications Weak interactions Cooperativity Modularity Combinatorics Polarity p