What are 3 major points about Cell Chemistry?
What are the two types of chemical interactions and their properties?
Covalent:
- 100x stronger than non-covalent bonds
- form macromolecules
- resist being pulled apart by thermal motions
- Only broken by biologically catalyzed chemical reactions
Non-covalent:
- Allow molecules to recognize each others reversible associate
What is a main characteristic of chemical interactions/chemical bonds?
Bond strength –> is the amount of energy needed to break it.
Describe the chemical components of the cell.
99% of the total number of atoms in the cell C, H, N, O.
0.9% total number of atoms in the cell P, S, Cl, Na, Mg, K, Ca.
There a certain combinations of atoms (chemical groups) that are abundant in cells:
Methyl (-CH3)
Hydroxyl (-OH)
Carboxyl (-COOH)
Carbonyl (-C=O)
Phosphate (-PO3^-2)
Sulfhydryl (-SH)
Amino (-NH2)
How are cell compounds formed?
Describe organic compounds.
What are the uses of organic compounds?
1) Monomer subunits to construct Polymeric Macromolecules
2) Energy sources –> broken down and transformed into other small molecules (used in metabolic pathways)
3) Many have both functions (subunits and energy sources)
4) Organic molecules are synthesized of or broken down into the same set of simple compounds
Describe the transition of organic compounds to macromolecule.
Organic compounds - small organic building blocks of the cell
Macromolecule - large organic molecules of the cell
Sugar –> Polysaccharides, Glycogen, Starch (in plants)
Fatty Acids –> fats and membrane lipids
Amino Acids –> proteins
Nucleotides –> Nucleic Acids
What are macromolecules?
Describe the assembly of macromolecules.
What are the two types of reactions in cells?
Anabolic:
Two monomers put together through covalent bonding - need to provide energy to make bonds.
Condensation - releases H20
Energetically unfavourable
Catabolic:
Break bonds and makes monomers - releases energy when bonds are broken.
Hydrolysis - takes in H20
Energy favourable
What does the second law of thermodynamics state? How is it possible?
Where does cell heat come from?
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
The energy can be converted from one form to another but not created or destroyed.
In biological systems, how is energy stores and managed?
What is Gibbs free energy?
Putting it all together
DeltaG = DeltaH -TDeltaS
When DeltaG is 0, it is energetically favourable.
What is the purpose of an Enzyme?
Enzymes catalyze the reaction by lowering the activation energy required for a reaction to take place. It then takes less time for the reactants to reach the required activation energy, thereby speeding up the reaction.
Enzymes speed reactions but cannot force energetically unfavourable reactions to occur. (cannot go uphill)
Explain what this statement means “reactions in cells are coupled.”
Explain the concept of Equilibrium in the cell.
Describe an example of a reaction driven by ATP hydrolysis.
Reaction: A-O + B-H —> A-B
Step 1: In the ACTIVATION step, ATP transfers a phosphate, P, to A-OH, to produce a high energy intermediate.
Step 2: in the CONDENSATION step, the activated intermediate reacts with B-H to form the product A-B, a reaction accompanied by the release of inorganic phosphate.
Then there is the net result.
A-OH + B-H + ATP –> A-B+ ADP + P
What is Acetyl CoA?
Describe oxidation and reduction involved in electron transfer.
When reduces it is methane.
When it oxidizes it is carbon dioxide.
In a cell, reduction and hydrogenation is the same.
What is an example of hydrogenation? When does it equal reduction?
A + e- + H+ –> AH
Hydrogenation = Reduction if the number of C-H bonds increases, the molecule is then reduced.
What is NADH and NADPH?
They are both electron carriers
When two reactions take place, energy is taken by one reaction to another, you then have ATP carriers.
When there is oxidation in a reaction, molecules that carry electrons and hydrogen is NADH and NADPH.