Important Organic Compounds: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic Acids

1. Important Organic Compounds

2. Carbohydrates • Includes sugars and starches • Contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen • Usually hydrogen and oxygen are in a ration of 2 H to every 1 O, just like in water, which results in the name (carbohydrate means hydrated carbon) • The types of carbohydrates are as follows:

3. Monosaccharide – one sugar. Also known as a simple sugar, usually in a single line or a ring and contain 3-7 carbons. Examples include glucose (blood sugar, universal cellular fuel), fructose, galactose, ribose, and deoxyribose • Disaccharides – double sugars. Formed when two sugars are joined together through a dehydration reaction. Examples are sucrose (glucose-fructose; cane sugar), lactose (glucose-galactose; milk) and maltose (glucose-glucose; malt sugar) • Polysaccharides – long, branching chains of sugars. They are large and used for energy storage. Examples: starch (plants) and glycogen (animals)

4. Lipids • Large and diverse group of organic compounds • Enter the body in the form of fat-marbled meats, egg yolks, milk products, and fats • Contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but oxygen is greatly outnumbered • Tend to be insoluble in water, but soluble in other lipids, alcohols, and acetone.

5. Types of Lipids • Triglycerides • neutral fats. • Composed of 3 fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule (looks like an E). • Can be saturated (all single bonds, usually a solid, found in animals) or unsaturated (liquid, found in plants) • Can be used to make a huge amount of energy and is stored in fat deposits

6. Types of Lipids • Phospholipids – Similar to triglycerides, except one of the fatty acids is a phosphorous containing group. This gives half of the molecule a polarity; while the other half is nonpolar. Great for membranes (cellular boundaries). • Steroids – a flat molecule formed by four interlocking molecular rings. Also formed mostly by carbon and hydrogen and are fat soluble. Example: cholesterol

7. Proteins • Account for over 50% of the organic matter in the body. • Contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur • Made from amino acids • There are about 20 common amino acids. All contain an amine group (NH2) and an acid group (COOH) and only differ from each other by a single group of atoms called the R-group

8. Two types of Proteins • Fibrous – structural proteins. Important in binding structures together and providing strength • Globular – functional proteins. They are mobile, generally spherical molecules, and have a great range of uses. • Enzymes (biological catalysts) are a type of globular protein

9. Nucleic Acids • They make up genes • Made up of nucleotides, which are composed of a nitrogen base, a pentose (5-carbon) sugar, and a phosphate group • The five nitrogen bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil

10. The two major types of nucleic acids are • Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) – the main blue print of the cell, double helix, has a deoxyribose sugar backbone with the nucleic acids acting as the rungs. Does not use uracil, and uses complimentary pair (AT and CG) • Ribonucleic acid – single strand with a ribose backbone, U replaces T, helps to make the proteins gathering the proper information for the ribosomes

11. Adenosine Triphosphateand Adenosine Diphosphate • The rechargeable batteries of nature. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the charged battery; adenosine diphosphate (ADP) is the spent battery • Cells use the energy given off from breaking the phosphate bond in ATP to do pretty much everything • Once the bond is broken, ATP becomes ADP • Energy from sugar is used to charge the molecule back to ATP so it can be used again.