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The Structure and Function of
Macromolecules
I. Polymers
• What is a polymer?• Poly = many; mer = part. A polymer is
a large molecule consisting of many smaller sub-units bonded together.
• What is a monomer?• A monomer is a sub-unit of a polymer.
A. Making and Breaking Polymers
• How are covalent linkages between monomers formed in the creation of organic polymers?
• Condensation or dehydration synthesis reactions.
• Monomers are covalently linked to one another through the removal of water.
Condensation Synthesis
Hydrolysis
• What is a hydrolysis reaction?• Polymers are broken down into
monomers.• Hydro = water; lysis = loosening/• Water is added and the lysis of the
polymer occurs.
Hydrolysis
II. Classes of Organic Molecules:
• What are the four classes of organic molecules?
• Carbohydrates• Lipids• Proteins• Nucleic Acids
A. Carbohydrates• Sugars• Carbo = carbon, hydrate = water;
carbohydrates have the molecular formula (CH2O)n
• Functions:• Store energy in chemical bonds• Glucose is the most common
monosaccharide• Glucose is produced by photosynthetic
autotrophs
1. Structure of Monosaccharides
• An OH group is attached to each carbon except one, which is double bonded to an oxygen (carbonyl).
• Classified according to the size of their carbon chains, varies from 3 to 7 carbons.
Triose = 3 carbons Pentose = 5 carbons Hexose = 6 carbons
• In aqueous solutions many monosaccharides form rings:
2. Structure of Disaccharides• Double sugar that consists of 2
monosaccharides, joined by a glycosidic linkage.
• What reaction forms the glycosidic linkage?
• Condensation synthesis
Examples of Disaccharides:Lactose = glucose + galactose Sucrose = glucose + fructose
3. Polysaccharides• Structure: Polymers of a few hundred or a few
thousand monosaccharides.• Functions: energy storage molecules or for structural
support:
• Starch is a plant storage from of energy, easily hydrolyzed to glucose units
• Cellulose is a fiber-like structureal material - tough and insoluble - used in plant cell walls
• Glycogen is a highly branched chain used by animals to store energy in muscles and the liver.
• Chitin is a polysaccharide used as a structural material in arthropod exoskeleton and fungal cell walls.
B. Lipids• Structure: Greasy or oily nonpolar
compounds• Functions:• Energy storage • membrane structure• Protecting against desiccation (drying out). • Insulating against cold.• Absorbing shocks. • Regulating cell activities by hormone
actions.
1. Structure of Fatty Acids• Long chains of mostly carbon and hydrogen
atoms with a -COOH group at one end.• When they are part of lipids, the fatty acids
resemble long flexible tails.
Saturated and Unsaturated Fats
• Unsaturated fats :– liquid at room temp– one or more double bonds between carbons in the
fatty acids allows for “kinks” in the tails– most plant fats
• Saturated fats:– have only single C-C bonds in fatty acid tails– solid at room temp– most animal fats
Saturated fatty acid
Saturated fatty acid
Unsaturated fatty acid
2. Structure of Triglycerides• Glycerol + 3 fatty acids• 3 ester linkages are formed between a
hydroxyl group of the glycerol and a carboxyl group of the fatty acid.
3. Phospholipids• Structure: Glycerol + 2 fatty acids + phosphate group.• Function: Main structural component of membranes, where
they arrange in bilayers.
Phospholipids in Water
4. Waxes
• Function:• Lipids that serve as coatings for plant
parts and as animal coverings.
5. Steroids• Structure: Four carbon rings with no fatty acid tails• Functions:• Component of animal cell membranes• Modified to form sex hormones
C. Proteins
• Structure:• Polypeptide chains• Consist of peptide bonds between 20
possible amino acid monomers• Have a 3 dimensional globular shape
1. Functions of Proteins
• Enzymes which accelerate specific chemical reactions up to 10 billion times faster than they would spontaneously occur.
• Structural materials, including keratin (the protein found in hair and nails) and collagen (the protein found in connective tissue).
• Specific binding, such as antibodies that bind specifically to foreign substances to identify them to the body's immune system.
• Specific carriers, including membrane transport proteins that move substances across cell membranes, and blood proteins, such as hemoglobin, that carry oxygen, iron, and other substances through the body.
• Contraction, such as actin and myosin fibers that interact in muscle tissue.
• Signaling, including hormones such as insulin that regulate sugar levels in blood.
2. Structure of Amino Acid Monomers• Consist of an asymmetric carbon covalently
bonded to:• Hydrogen • Amino group• Carboxyl (acid) group• Variable R group specific to each amino acid
Properties of Amino Acids• Grouped by polarity • Variable R groups (side chains) confer different
properties to each amino acid:• polar, water soluble.
• non-polar, water insoluble
• positively charged
• negatively charged.
4 levels of protein structure:
• primary
• secondary
• tertiary
• quaternary
3. Primary Structure• Unique sequence of amino acids in a protein• Slight change in primary structure can alter function• Determined by genes• Condensation synthesis reactions form the peptide
bonds between amino acids
4. Secondary Structure
• Repeated folding of protein’s polypeptide backbone
• stabilized by H bonds between peptide linkages in the protein’s backbone
• 2 types, alpha helix, beta pleated sheets
5. Tertiary Structure• Irregular contortions of a protein due to
bonding between R groups• Weak bonds:
– H bonding between polar side chains– ionic bonding between charged side chains– hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions
• Strong bonds:– disulfide bridges form strong covalent linkages
5. Quaternary Structure• Results from interactions among 2 or more
polypeptides
Factors That Determine Protein Conformation• Occurs during protein synthesis within cell• Depends on physical conditions of environment
– pH, temperature, salinity, etc.• Change in environment may lead to denaturation of
protein• Denatured protein is biologically inactive• Can renature if primary structure is not lost
D. Nucleic Acids• Two kinds:
– DNA:double stranded
can self replicate
makes up genes which code for proteins
is passed from one generation to another
– RNA:
single stranded functions in actual synthesis of proteins coded for by
DNA
is made from the DNA template molecule
1. Nucleotide Monomer Structure
• Both DNA and RNA are composed of nucleotide monomers.
• Nucleotide = 5 carbon sugar, phosphate, and nitrogenous base
Deoxyribose in DNA Ribose in RNA
2. Building the Polymer
• Phosphate group of one nucleotide forms strong covalent bond with the #3 carbon of the sugar of the other nucleotide.
3. Functions of Nucleotides
• Monomers for Nucleic Acids• Transfer chemical energy from one
molecule to another (e.g. ATP)
DNA:
• Double helix
• 2 polynucleotide chains wound into the double helix
• Base pairing between chains with H bonds
• A - T
• C - G
Summary of the Organic Molecules: