BIOCHEMISTRY:
When water diffuses
=study of life in the molecular level
=biological molecules of living organisms
=interrelation of biomolecules to support
different processes in life
=how the biomolecules are affected by external
factors
CROSS SECTION OF AN ANIMAL CELL
= highly organized complex system of
biomolecules
= site of conversion from food to energy and
by-products
= have all the properties as that of a living
organism: grow, reproduce, respond, motility
and metabolize
= combination of solution and colloid
= 70 90% water
= 10 25% organic matter
= 1% inorganic ions:
Potassium, sodium, magnesium, trace metals
calcium
Properties of Solution:
1. Diffusion - molecules in solution distribute
themselves uniformly throughout a solution.
= influenced by temperature and particle size
2. Osmosis - passage of water molecules
through a semi-permeable membrane
A cell in an:
-isotonic solution - have the same
concentration of solutes as the cell. Water
will diffuse both in and out of the cell, but no
net effect will be seen.
-hypotonic solution - Hypotonic environments
will have a lower concentration of solute than
the cell. Water will move from the environment
into the cell in order to balance the
concentration of solute.
into the cell it will swell. Sometimes the cell
may lyse or burst due to the excess water
uptake.
-hypertonic solution - Hypertonic solutions will
have a higher concentration of solute (glucose,
salt, etc) than the cell. Mainly water will move
across the cell membrane in order to even out
the concentration of solutes in both the cell and
the environment around the cell. The cell
will shrink as water leaves the cell to decrease
the higher concentration of solute in the
environment.
3. Dialysis - simple molecules separate from
complex ones: only the simple molecules
diffuse through semipermeable membrane.
4. Freezing Point Depression - depends on the
amount of dissolved substance in water.
e.g. the freezing point of a solution is reduced
as compared to the freezing point of pure
water.
5. Surface Tension - property of liquid surface
wherein there is a membrane that covers the
liquid.
COLLOIDS:
- A colloid is intermediate between a solution
and a suspension
- Substance dispersed in a dispersing medium.
- Particles range between ions in solution and
precipitate

COLLOIDS: Properties
1. Size 1-100nm
2. Diffusibility selective passage
3. Visibility ultramicroscopic
4. Motion Brownian Movement -
Brownian motion or pedesis is the random
motion of particles suspended in a fluid (a liquid
or a gas) resulting from their collision with the
fast-moving atoms or molecules in the gas or
liquid.
5. Light reflection effect
6. Charge of Particles Complete charges
Due to the dissociation of the surface
molecules : Some colloidal particles develop
electrical charge due to the dissociation /
ionisation of the surface molecules. The charge
on the colloidal particles is balanced by the
oppositely charged ions in the sol. For example,
an aqueous solution of soap (sodium palmitate)
which dissociates into ions as,
The cations (Na+) pass into the solution while
the anions have a tendency to
form aggregates due to weak attractive forces
present in the hydrocarbon chains.
METABOLIC Reactions in Living Organisms
1. Oxidation-Reduction (REDOX)
Oxidation and reduction reactions, collectively
known as redox reactions, take place in body
cells and are important for the production of
energy, namely ATP. Oxidation involves the loss
of electrons and reduction involves the gain of
electrons
=e.g. Dehydrogenation Hydrogenation
Processes
Hydrogenation (reduction) and
dehydrogenation (oxidation) of organic
molecules. We will concentrate first on
hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions
involving aldehydes, ketones, imines (Schiff
bases), and carboxylic acid derivatives.
Hydrogenation (reduction) of an aldehyde,
ketone, or imine results in a primary alcohol,
secondary alcohol, and amine, respectively
2. Hydrolysis-Condensation
Condensation is a chemical process by which 2
molecules are joined together to make a larger,
more complex, molecule, with the loss of
water.
It is the basis for the synthesis of all the
important biological macromolecules
(carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids)
from their simpler sub-units.
in all cases of condensation, molecules with
projecting -H atoms are linked to other
molecules with projecting -OH groups,
producing H2O, ( H.OH ) also known as water,
which then moves away from the original
molecules.
A-H + B-OH --> A-B + H2O
Hydrolysis is the opposite to condensation. A
large molecule is split into smaller sections by
breaking a bond, adding -H to one section and -
OH to the other.
The products are simpler substances. Since it
involves the addition of water, this explains
why it is called hydrolysis, meaning splitting by
water.
A-B + H2O --> A-H + B-OH
Carboxylic esters hydrolyze to the parent
carboxylic acid and an alcohol
= e.g. Cleavage of ester, glycoside or acid amide
bonds
= e.g. Formation of large, complex molecules
3. Decarboxylation removal of CO2 gas
Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that
removes a carboxyl group and releases carbon
dioxide (CO2). Usually, decarboxylation refers
to a reaction of carboxylic acids, removing a
carbon atom from a carbon chain.
4. Transfer Reactions:
> Transphosphorylation metabolism of
Glucose
- Organic phosphate group is transferred from
one molecule to another.
> Transamination synthesis of amino acids
- Transamination, a chemical reaction that
transfers an amino group to a ketoacid to form
new amino acids. Transamination in
biochemistry is accomplished by enzymes called
transaminases or aminotransferases.
> Transacetylation breakdown of CHO and FA
in the activation of acetate
- Transfer of an acetyl group (CH3CO-), from one
compound to another; such reactions, usually
involving formation of acetyl-CoA, occur notably
in the initiation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle by
the transfer of an acetyl group to oxaloacetate
to form citrate.
> Transmethylation
- Transmethylation is a biologically important
organic chemical reaction in which a methyl
group is transferred from one compound to
another. An example of transmethylation is the
recovery of methionine from homocysteine.
COLLOIDAL SOLUTIONS:
-1-1000 nm
- Heterogeneous
- Colloidal particles pass through filter paper but
not through parchment paper.
- Colloidal particles are not seen to naked eye
but can be studied through ultra-microscope.
- Colloids shows Tyndall effect. (Some colloids
are translucent because of the Tyndall effect,
which is the scattering of light by particles in
the colloid.)
- Translucent
Functional Groups: Importance
1. RCOOH (CA) weakly acidic, proton donor,
occurs in fats and amino acids
2. ROH (alcohol) polar, water-soluble, forms
H-bonds, slightly acidic, occurs in sugars
3. RCOH/RCOR (aldehyde) polar, occurs in
some sugars
4. RNH2 (amine) weakly basic, accepts proton
to form ionized salt, occurs in amino acids
5. RC=CH2 (alkene) reactive, occurs in most
biomolecules
6. RCOOR (ester) generally neutral, occurs in
lipids
7. ArOH (phenol) weakly acidic, occurs in
specific amino acids
8. RPO3 (phosphate) energy carriers, occurs
in sugars
METHABOLIC PATHWAY:
A metabolic pathway is a series of chemical
reactions in a cell that build and breakdown
molecules for cellular processes.
Anabolic pathways synthesize molecules and
require energy.
Catabolic pathways break down molecules and
produce energy.
Because almost all metabolic reactions take
place non-spontaneously, proteins called
enzymes help facilitate those chemical
reactions.