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Intro to biomolecules Flashcards

1
Q

list the 4 major biomolecules

A

1) nucleic acid
2) proteins
3) lipids
4) carbohydrate (MOST ABUNDANT)

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2
Q

what are the building blocks of

a) nucleic acid
b) proteins
c) lipids
d) carbohydrate

A

a) nucleotides
b) amino acids
c) glycerol and fatty acids
d) sugar

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3
Q

what is the significance of the 4 major biomolecules

A

all cells are made entirely of them (building block molecules)

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4
Q

what are biomolecules

A

large molecules (polymers) composed from covalent bonding of many repeat sub-units (monomers)

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5
Q

what do carbohydrates contain and give their general formula

A

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen

(C.H2O)n (n = 3+)

large quantities of hydroxy groups

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6
Q

what functions do carbohydrates have

A
  • provide energy
  • storage form of energy in body
  • cell membrane component (mediates intracellular communication)
  • structural component of many organisms (bacteria cell walls, insect exoskeletons, plants fibrous cellulous)
  • SO essential for ALL living organisms
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7
Q

what are the most common forms of carbohydrates

A
  • sugar fibres

- starch

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8
Q

what 4 categories are carbohydrates divided into

A

1) monosaccharides
(ie glucose which all cells use as energy source)
2) disaccharides
(2 monosaccharides linked by covalent bonds)
3) oligosaccharides
(3-10 monosaccharides linked by covalent bonds)
4) polysaccharides
(100s/1000s of monosaccharides linked by covalent bonds)

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9
Q

monosaccharides: what are they and what is their structure

A

simplest form of carbs + sugars

backbone = unbranched carbon chain (all C atoms linked by single bonds)

one of the C atoms is double bonded to an O atom = carbonile group

each of the other C atoms has a hydroxy group

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10
Q

monosaccharides: how does the position of the carbonyl group influence the name of the monosaccharide

A

carbonyl group at END of chain = ALDEHYDE called ALDOSE

carbonyl group at another position = KETONE called KETOSE

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11
Q

what is the name for simplest monosaccharides containing 3 carbons and name the 2 types

A

TRIOSE

  • glyceraldehyde (an aldotriose)
  • dihydroxyacetone (a ketotriose)
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12
Q

give the category name and examples of monosaccharides with 3 to 9 carbons (excluding 8)

A

3 = triose (glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone)

4 = tetrose (erythrose)

5 = pentose (ribose, ribulose, xylulose)

6 = hexose (glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose)

7 = heptose (sedoheptulose)

9 = nonose (neuraminic / sialic acid)

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13
Q

which monosaccharides are major ones

A

those containing 4 to 6 carbon atoms

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14
Q

how do we number the carbons in the monosaccharide backbone

A

carbon 1 is the carbon on the end closest to the reactive carbonyl group (H-C=O)

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15
Q

what is a feature of all monosaccharides (except for dihydroxyacetone)

A

contain at least 1 asymmetrical (CHIRAL) carbon atom which makes the carbon optically active

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16
Q

what is an asymmetric / chiral carbon

A

a carbon with 4 different types / groups of atoms attached to it

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17
Q

what can we not do with chiral molecules

A

superimpose them on their mirror images by any combination of rotations / translations

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18
Q

what are the 2 different forms from the arrangement around an asymmetric carbon

A

OPTICAL ISOMERS (D isomer and L isomer)

  • image mirror of the order
  • not superimposed
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19
Q

so what are the 2 optical isomers of glyceraldehyde (simplest aldose)

A

D-glyceraldehyde

L-glyceraldehyde

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20
Q

define isomer

A

compounds with the SAME molecular formula but DIFFERENT molecular structures

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21
Q

define stereoisomer

A

subset of isomers
same with respect to which atoms are joined to which other atoms
BUT the atoms are oriented differently in space

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22
Q

define enantiomers

A

stereoisomers which are NON-SUPERIMPOSABLE mirror images
(2+ compounds w same molecular formula and seq of bonded atoms differing in only spatial arrangement of the atoms)
molecule with 1 chiral carbon exist as stereoisomers termed enantiomers

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23
Q

why do carbohydrates have many stereoisomers

A

because of the arrangment of the OH groups around each asymmetric carbon

24
Q

what does the number of stereoisomers a molecule will have depend on

A

a molecule with ‘n’ asymmetric carbons can have 2^’n’ stereoisomers (2 because one D and one L)

example:
aldohexose...
4 asymmetric carbons 
so 2^4 = 16 stereoisomers
8 D-isomers and 8 L-isomers
25
what are D and L conformations determined by in glyceraldehyde (only 1 asymmetric carbon)
orientation of the hydroxy group around the asymmetric carbon D-ISOMER - if hydroxy group is on the right about the asymmetric carbon L-ISOMER - if its on the left
26
what are D and L conformations determined by in larger molecules (more than 1 asymmetric carbon)
based on orientation of hydroxy group on the asymmetric carbon furthest from the carbonile group (on right = D, on left = L)
27
what happens in monosaccharides with 5+ carbon atoms in backbone and how
occur in aqueous solutions as cyclic structures forming either alpha or beta form Carbonile group forms a covalent bond w the O of the OH group along the chain
28
what is the name of the carbon where the ring forms and orientation of the hydroxy group can change and what determines alpha or beta composition
ANOMERIC CARBON thus the 2 forms are called ANOMERS... ALPHA FORM = when hydroxy group on anomeric carbon points DOWN BETA FORM = when hydroxy group on anomeric carbon points UP
29
what can the rings of cyclic monosaccharides do
open and re-close allowing rotation to occur about the anomeric carbon (this yields the 2 distinct configurations)
30
what is the name of the process where carbohydrates change spontaneously between alpha and beta configurations
MUTAROTATION
31
what are 3 diagrams to depict monosaccharide structures
1) cyclic fischer projections (in alpha = places hydroxy attached to anomeric carbon to right toward the ring) 2) haworth projection 3) chair conformation (in alpha the 2 above place the hydroxy downwards)
32
what happens in alpha and beta anomeric forms of ketahexoses
hydroxy group on carbon 5 reacts with ketone group at carbon 2 to form a 5 or 6 membered ring the 5 membered ring structures resemble furan (an organic molecule) so are termed FURANOSES the 6 resemble pyran so termed PYRANOSES
33
how is a disaccharide formed
2 monosaccharides bond together through a dehydration reaction which forms a covalent glycosidic bond (between anomeric hydroxyl of 1 sugar and hydroxyl of a 2nd)
34
what is a glycoside
molecule where a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond
35
what are the 3 important disaccharides
sucrose maltose lactose
36
what is lactose
``` galactose + glucose monosaccharides bound by beta 1,4 glycosidic bond principle sugar (carbohydrate) found naturally in milk of mammals / dairy ```
37
what is lactose digested by and what happens if this is lacking
lactase (+ by bacteria in the gut through FERMENTATION producing H2, CO2 + CH4) lactose intolerance
38
what is sucrose
glucose + fructose joined by alpha 1,2 glycosidic bond | obtained from sugar cane and bead
39
what is sucrose used in (medically)
cough medicine = makes it taste sweet | sweetener in pharmaceuticals
40
what is maltose
2 glucose molecules connected by alpha 1,4 glycosidic bonds a product of starch breakdown (2 step) during digestion found in germination
41
what are oligosaccharides
- composed of 3-10 monosaccharides connected by glycosidic bonds - large numbers of them = prepared by partially breaking down polysaccharides - most of few naturally occuring ones are in plants - examples = raffinose, stachyose, verbascose
42
what are polysaccharides
- most complex + important carbohydrates - long chains of monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bonds - can be branched or unbranched - high molecular weight
43
what is the most common monomer used to generate polysaccharides
D-glucose
44
which 3 types of polysaccharides have been recognised depending on component monosaccharides
1) homopolysaccharides 2) heteropolysaccharides 3) congegated polysaccharides
45
what are homopolysaccharides | give examples
polysaccharides with only 1 type of monosaccharide in the chain starch, glycogen, cellulose
46
what is starch
- major form of stored carbohydrates in plant cells - identical structure to glycogen BUT lower degree of branching - made up of a mixture of amylose and amylopectin
47
what is amylose
linear chain of 100s of alpha glucose monomers linked by alpha 1,4 glycosidic bonds
48
what is amylopectin
branched molecule 1000s of alpha glucose monomers linked by alpha 1,4 glycosidic bonds branches = formed by alpha 1,6 glycosidic bonds
49
how is starch digested
hydrolysis reaction by amylase 2 step starch -> maltose -> glucose (by maltase)
50
what is glycogen
- long term energy store in animal cells - made primarily by liver + muscles - made of alpha glucose monomers linked by alpha 1,4 glycosidic bonds branched bc of alpha 1,6 glycosidic bonds
51
what is the structure of glycogen | compare this to amylopectin
compact because of coiling of polymer chains (allows large amounts of carbon energy to be stored in small volume with little effect on cellular osmolarity) more extensively branched with branches 1 in every 10 units (amylopectin = 1 in 30)
52
what is cellulose
- firbous carbohydrate found on all plants - thousands of d-glucose sub-units linked by beta 1,4 glycosidic bond - unbranched + linear (chains arranged parallel) - no coiling or helix formation
53
how is cellulose broken down
humans = digestive juice lacks enzymes to hydrolyse glycosidic bond BUT certain microorganisms make cellulase so can digest it
54
what are derivative carbohydrates
- sugar molecules modified with substitute other than hydroxy groups - can contain nitrogen, phosphate + sulphur compounds (glycosaminoglycans, sugar phosphates / acetates)
55
MOST sugar derivatives...
- occur naturally - important biological function (ie chondroitin sulphate - imp structural component of cartilage providing its resistance to compression)
56
what are a number of carbohydrates (large polysaccharides and small oligosaccharides found in association with)
molecules other than carbs ie lipids + proteins carbs with lipids = GLYCOLIPIDS carbs with proteins = GLYCOPROTEINS
57
what are heteropolysaccharides
2+ different monosaccharides linked to form a polysaccharide USUALLY repeating units of disaccharide BUT SOMETIMES the polymer has 2 alternating disaccharides

IOE (22 decks)

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