Organic Chemistry

• All organic compounds contain a carbon backbone.
• Major groups:

• - Carbohydrates
• - Lipids
• - Proteins
• - Nucleic Acids

• Commonly called sugars and starches
• Jobs of carbohydrates:

• 1. Fuel for cells
• 2. Structural portion of plant wall

• Monosaccharides or simple sugars
• (building blocks for larger carbohydrates)

• Examples:
• glucose and fructose

• To build larger carbohydrates, we start by putting together two monosaccharides.
• We remove water to form a bond between the two monosaccharides.
• This is called the dehyration reaction.

Are  formed by joining two monosaccharides together.

• How?
•    Dehydration synthesis (dehydration reaction)

• Examples:
• sucrose and maltose

Polysaccharides are built by joining many monosaccharides together.

• How?
•    Dehydration synthesis (dehydration reaction)

• Polysaccharides vary due to their structure.
• Examples:
• 1. Starch - storage form in plants
• 2. Cellulose - cell wall of plants
• 3. Glycogen - storage form in animals

Most lipids are insoluble in water and have a greasy or oily consistency.

• Jobs of Lipids:
• 1) Fuel molecules 
• 2) Structural parts of cells
• 3) Essential hormones

• 1. Neutral Fats
• 2. Phospholipids
• 3. Steroids

Neutral fats store more energy than carbohydrates

A neutral fat is made up of one glycerol molecule and 1, 2 or 3 fatty acid chains.

Fatty Acid chains are joined to the glycerol molecule by:   Dehydration synthesis (dehydration reaction)

• Example of neutral fat:
• triglyceride

All fatty acid chains have single bonds.  

- Solid at room temperature.

Fatty acid chains have one or more double bonds.

- Liquid at room temperature.

Important parts of cell membranes.

•  Made UP of: 
• - 1 glycerol molecule 
• - 1 or 2 fatty acid chains 
• - Phosphorus 
• - Sometimes Nitrogen

• Be able to identify all parts
• - 

Hydrophobic means repelled by water

• Which end of the phospholipid is hydrophobic?
• Fatty acid tails

Hydrophilic means attracted to water.

• What end of the phospholipid is hydrophilic?  
• Glycerol Head

• Lipids without fatty acid chains.     
• - They are a 4 carbon ring structure.

• Important steroids:  
• - Vitamin D  
• - Cholesterol  
• - Estrogen  
• - Progesterone
• - Testosterone

Key component in animal cell membranes

Build up of cholesterol on arterial walls that reduces blood flow

• Cholesterol must be carried to move around the body.      Two carriers:  
• HDL - High density lipoprotein  
• carries cholesterol away from the arteries and to the liver.
• It is called "good" cholesterol
• Numbers above 40 mg/dL are recommended      

• LDL-  Low density lipoprotein 
• Carries cholesterol to the arteries
• Its is your "bad" cholesterol  
• Numbers should be below 130 mg/dL 

Total cholesterol should be below 200.

Composed of: 

• 1. Carbon
• 2. Nitrogen
• 3. Oxygen
• 4. Hydrogen
• 5. Sulfur

• 1) speed up chemical reactions
• 2) structural components of many things     
• 3) transport proteins move items around the cell and body   
• 4) some proteins act as weapons against diseases

 Smallest form of a protein

• Each amino acid has: 
• 1) an amino group        -NH3 
• 2) a carboxyl group     -COO 
• 3) an "R" group or side chain attached to a C atom. 
• Each amino acid differs by its "R" group
• All are attracted to a common carbon atom.

We must remove a water molecule to join two amino acids together.

We always join the carboxyl group of one amino acid to the amino group of the second amino acid.

Name of bond holding amino acids together.

• Dipeptide:
• Two amino acids joined together.

• Polypeptide:
• More than two amino acids joined together.

4 Levels of protein structure:      

• 1) primary structure
• -  Determined by the order of amino acids

• 2) Secondary structure 
• - Coiling, folding or twisting of protein chain. 
• - Caused by Hydrogen bonds

• 3) Tertiary structure
• - Folding of coils upon themselves.     
• - Caused by R group interactions.

• 4) Quarternary structure
• - Two or more protein chains bonding with each other.

• A special type of protein that speeds up chemical reactions.
• The enzyme acts as a meeting place for the reactants (substrates) that will bring it together.
• The enzyme comes out of the reaction unchanged.

• Active site:
• Area on enzyme where substrates meet.
• Another way to look at it is that enzymes lower the energy needed for the reaction to occur.

•  Jobs:
• 1) Fuel molecules
• 2) Carry hereditary information 
• 3) Carry directions throughout the cell

Smallest form of a nucleic acid

• Each nucleotide is composed of:
• - One sugar      
• - One or more phosphates      
• - One nitrogen base

• One Sugar:
• Choice of either ribose or deoxyribose (sugar is in red in above diagram) 

• Nitrogen bases     
• Two groupings of nitrogen bases  
• Purines  
• Compounds made up of two carbon rings  
• Adenine and guanine    

• Pyrimidines:
• Compounds make up of one carbon ring  
• - cytosine        
• - thymine            
• - uracil

• ATP = Adenosine Tri Phosphate 
• Energy carrier for cells

• Composed of:
• 1) One sugar - ribose
• 2) 3 phosphates
• 3) One nitrogen base - adenine

• The last two P are held on with high energy bonds.      Removal of the last P allows energy to be released.     
• The compound is now called ADP.       

• ATP ------} ADP + P + energy

• Ribose nucleic acid
• - Carries information around the cell     
• - May also hold genetic information in some organisms

• One nucleotide of RNA includes:
• - One sugar - ribose 
• - One phosphate 
• - One nitrogen base

• Each nucleotide of RNA has a choice of 4 nitrogen bases:
• - Adenine         
• - guanine      
• - Cytosine          
• - uracil
• RNA is a single strand of many nucleotides joined together.

• Deoxyribose nucleic acid
• Carries hereditary information from generation to generation.

•  Each nucleotide composed of: 
• - One sugar - deoxyribose 
• - One phosphate 
• - One nitrogen base

• 4 Nitrogen base choices:     
• - Adenine               
• - guanine      
• - Cytosine               
• - thymine
• DNA is a double strand of nucleotides

Double strand structure requires nitrogen bases to pair up. Size constraints create these pairings.

• Adenine always pairs with thymine A-T
• Guanine always pairs with cytosine G-C