Organic Compounds

I. Carbon chemistry

a. Carbon is the central element of life

1. Easily forms chemical bonds with itself.

2. Result is really long carbon chains

3. Hydrocarbons - in gasoline

II Macromolecules

A. Gigantic molecules

1. Lots of carbon atoms in chains.

2. Polymers - large molecule consisting of many identical or similar molecular units

a. The units are monomers

3. We need to know about a few types - these make up all living things

III. Carbohydrates

A. Monosaccharides - sugars

1. Some multiple of CH2O

2. Example is glucose - used as an energy storage molecule - carrier of energy

3. Used as an energy storage product in plants - Created by photosynthesis

4. Also the energy intermediary in human blood - present in blood

a. Closely regulated in body

b. Sometimes put in IV

B. Disaccharides

1. Take 2 monosaccharides and bond them together - get a disaccharide

a. Sucrose - glucose and fructose

b. Sugar storage and transport product in plants

c. Milk sugar - lactose - glucose and galactose

1. Present in milk - energy for baby

C. Polysaccharides

1. Lots of monosaccharides linked together

2. Starches

a. Another energy storage product in plants - potato

1. same stuff used to starch collars in old days

2. Really good energy source in human food

b. Animals - glycogen - found in liver - intermediate storage product - helps maintain blood glucose levels - diabetes story

c. Both starches must be hydrolysed before use - break them up to make monosaccharides - these are used by cells for energy

3. Cellulose

a. Support material in plants

1. Multiple bonded glucose isomers - Wood and paper have lots of cellulose

2. Multiple bonds make cellulose tough to digest - This is a real paradox - this tough to digest stuff is really made of sugars which are energy food!!!

4. Chitin - the covering of insects, crabs and lobsters

IV. Lipids - all are poorly soluble in water

A. Glycerol and Fatty acids

1. Glycerol is a 3 carbon sugar - glycerin

2. Fatty acid is an organic acid with a long hydrocarbon chain

a. May be saturated or unsaturated

B. Lipids can be Oily Liquids - Like Crisco Oil ( an unsaturated fat) or white oily solids like lard (saturated fat)

1. Plants generally produce oils - unsaturated

2. Animals produce fats - saturated

C. Neat Properties

1. Water insoluble - hydrophobic - means that they are highly insoluble

2. Soap - Made by breaking fatty acid from glycerol

1. Forms a hydrophilic and hydrophobic end

2. This neat substance makes grease soluble in water

3. The most important property of lipids is that they store lots of energy per unit weight

D. Phospholipids

1. Add phosphate to one end of fat - this makes it like soap

2. The result is just like making soap - a hydrophilic end and a hydrophobic end

3. Makes nice little bilayers - forms cell membranes

E. Waxes - just high molecular weight lipids - means that they will be very solid

1. Used on surfaces to repel water - covering on leaves and fruit

V. Proteins

A. Structural and catalytic molecules

B. Made of amino acids - only 20 kinds - isomers in proteins

1. If you find one outside of the 20 it is usually in a poison or defense mechanism

2. Amino Acid

3. Amino head linked to carboxyl tail of other - peptide bond

4. Produces a poly peptide

5. Very long chains are proteins

C. Proteins are very complex molecules - they have a series of structures

1. Primary structure - order of different amino acids in protein chain

a. Gives the protein very different properties

2. Secondary structure

a. Proteins tend to fold in simple pattern

b. Helix is one possibility

c. These structures are cross bonded with hydrogen bonds

3. Tertiary - helices are arranged together

4. Quaternary structure - molecules are linked together with others

D. What proteins are used for - It might be easier to say what they aren’t used for

1. Structure - hair, silk, fingernails, connective tissue

2. Muscles

3. Hemoglobin in blood cells

4. Enzymes

a. Catalysts for biochemical reactions