1. everything you need to know (for now)
Chemistry for Biotech
everything you need to know (for now)

2. biochemistry Atoms—we don’t usually work with individual atoms
Molecules
small and usually inorganic; includes water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), and sodium chloride (NaCl).
Most of the molecules we’ll talk about are much larger—a dozen to billions of atoms in size—and organic

3. molecules
Water
Important because about 75% of the mass of a cell is water
Amount of water in the cell determines the concentrations of other substances
The medium in which the cell exists

4. Representing Molecules
There are accepted ways of drawing chemical molecules
You will need to be able to read these diagrams
View this YouTube video for more info!
Reading Chemical Structures
Make sure you understand this
(you will have a quiz on chemical structures)

5. A Quick Note on Bonds In biology, most of our bonds are:
Covalent (sharing electrons)
Hydrogen (attraction between + and – portions of molecules)

6. Organic chemistry CARBON!!! Lots of functional groups Covalent bonds
Single, double, triple bonds with itself
Can form chains, branches, and rings
Nearly infinite numbers of combinations
Lots of functional groups

7. Functional Groups
Functional groups are groups of atoms found within an organic molecule
Functional groups give the molecule its chemical properties (determines how it will react)
Go over your “Functional Groups for Biotech” sheet

8. Made up of smaller units called monomers
macromolecules
Tend to be polymers
Poly = _____; mer = _____
Made up of smaller units called monomers
Mono = _____; mer = _____

9. 4 main classes: macromolecules Carbohydrates Lipids Proteins
Nucleic acids

10. macromolecules
Any organic molecule is essentially a carbon core to which specific groups of atoms (functional groups) are attached
Even though the 4 types of macromolecules are made of different subunits (monomers) they are all put together/taken apart using the same processes

11. macromolecules PUTTING TOGETHER MONOMERS Dehydration synthesis
Requires energy
Accomplished by using enzymes
Remove an –OH group and a H+
TRY THIS!!!

12. macromolecules TAKING APART POLYMERS Hydrolysis (hydro·lysis)
Releases energy
Accomplished by using enzymes
TRY THIS!!!

13. macromolecule examples monomers
Carbohydrates
Sugars, starches, cellulose, chitin,
Simple sugars (monosaccharides)
Lipids
Fats, oils, waxes, steroids
Glycerol & fatty acids
Proteins
Muscle, hair, enzymes, adrenaline, melanin
Amino acids
Nucleic acids
DNA & RNA
nucleotides

14. carbohydrates C, H, & O Energy storage Structural (usually) 1:2:1
monosaccharides
disaccharides
Polysaccharides
Energy storage
Structural

15. monosaccharides
Monomers
Glucose, fructose, galactose, ribose, etc.

16. Glucose, an example C6H12O6 monosaccharide/simple sugar
carbon atoms are numbered
remember, 3-D!!!

17. disaccharides
Sucrose, lactose, & maltose, etc.
= two monosaccharides

19. polysaccharides Long polymers composed of many monosaccharides
Plant starch (amylose), animal starch (glycogen), cellulose, chitin, etc.

20. Lipids Chemicallly very different from carbohydrates Hydrophobic
3 groups:
Triglycerides—animal fats & plant oils
Energy storage
Phospholipids—cell membranes
Steroids—hormones, venoms, pigments

21. Proteins and Nucleic Acids
A quick overview here…
we will go over these in more depth soon!

22. proteins 75% of dry mass of the cell
Typical cell produces >2000 different proteins
=what it’s all about—what you are
Made up of amino acids
Amino acid sequence = polypeptide
Folding of polypeptide chain determines the action of the protein

23. Amino acids Core of a central carbon atom attached to
Amino group (-NH2)
Carboxyl group (-COOH)
R-group

24. nucleic acids Code for the production of proteins DNA & RNA
Direct the production of all cellular molecules
DNA & RNA
Monomers are ______________
DNA located…
eukaryotic
prokaryotic