Download Biochemistry: Organic Chemistry

Organic chemistry is the
study of all compounds
that contain bonds
between carbon atoms.
The chemistry of carbon is of great importance to the
study of biology.
1. Carbon has 4 valence electrons that can form strong
covalent bonds.
2. Carbon can bond to other carbon atoms to form
chains of almost unlimited length.
3. Carbon atoms can close upon themselves to form rings.
4. Carbon atoms can form
single, double, or even triple
bonds. These are represented
by single, double, or triple lines.
*No other element even comes close to matching Carbons diversity and versatility.*
Naming organic molecules.
1. How many carbons?
Prefix
Number of Carbons
Meth-
1
Eth-
2
Prop-
3
But-
4
Pent-
5
Hex-
6
Hept-
7
Oct-
8
Non-
9
Dec-
10
2. How many bonds?
Suffix
Number of bonds
-ane
1
-ene
2
-yne
3
3. Let’s try a few…
Methane- 1 carbon, single bonds
Ethene- 2 carbons, double bond
4. Special circumstances- when there is an –OH group, we have an alcohol
and change the suffix to –ol.
Macro means “giant”, so macromolecule means “giant
molecule”.
These giant molecules are made up of many smaller
molecules known as monomers. Monomers join together
to form polymers.
Macromolecules can be classified into four groups.
1. Carbohydrates- main source of energy
2. Lipids- energy storage; membranes
3. Nucleic acids- store and transmit genetic info.
4. Proteins- everything else in your body!
Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Living things store carbohydrates as starches.
Starches are polymers made up of sugar monomers. If they
describe a sugar, we call them polysaccharides and
monosaccharides.
Lipids are made up of mostly carbon and hydrogen and are
generally not soluble in water.
Three types of lipids we will study are fats, oils, and
waxes.
Saturated means that the fatty
acid contains the maximum
amount of hydrogen atoms it can
hold.
Unsaturated means that there is
still some room to work in
hydrogen atoms.
Nucleic acids are made up of hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, and
phosphorous.
Nucleic acids are polymers made up of monomers known as
nucleotides.
Two kinds of nucleic acid:
1. DNA- deoxyribonucleic acid
2. RNA- ribonucleic acid
Proteins are made up of nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen.
Proteins are polymers of monomers called amino acids.
20 amino acids are found in nature. 8 are essential and must be
acquired while 12 are made by the body.
Protein functions
• Control the rate of
reactions and regulate
cells processes.
• Used to form bones and
muscles.
• Transport substances
into or out of cells
• Help to fight disease
There are 4 levels of
protein structure.
The finished protein
(Quaternary) structure is
held together by van der
Waals forces and
hydrogen bonds.