BASIC CHEMISTRY AND

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
Edward Gabagat M.D.
Internal Medicine
BASIC CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL
COMPOSITION
 living organisms are made up of chemicals continuously
interacting to drive physiologic processes in
maintenance of life.
 Na (sodium)
 K ( potassium)
 Cl ( Chloride)
 H ( Hydrogen)
 Ca (Calcium)
 Mg ( Magnesium)
 SOME BASIC CHEMICAL TERMS
1. Matter - anything that occupies space and has mass plants extract CO2 and
Nitrogen from the atmosphere which becomes the building block of bio
matter. other organisms consume and incorporate these building blocks into
their substance by the process of growth, maintenance and reproduction.
2. Energy - has no mass but can be measured. drives all the chemical reactions in
the body
- the sun is the ultimate source of energy in the planet, energy is captured by
plants and stored in high energy bonds in the process of photosynthesis.
3. Elements - fundamental substance composing of matter
4. Atoms - building block of elements. a particular element has a unique physical
and chemical property. Contains a dense inner core called nucleus. The nucleus
contains protons (positively (charged particle and neutrons ( with no charge ).
Surrounding the nucleusis a region containing negatively charged particles called
electrons
 SOME BASIC CHEMICAL TERMS
5. Molecule - Combination of two or more atoms of the same element held together by
chemical bonds.
6. Compound - Two or more atoms of different elements bound together.
 SOME BASIC CHEMICAL TERMS
7. Mixtures - Substance composed of two or more compounds physically intermixed
together.
 Has 3 types
1. Solution - Homogeneous mixture of two or more components.
 Composed of the solvent and solute.
 The substance present in is called solvent.
Water is the body’s chief solvent. On the other hand, the substance present in smaller
amount is the solute.

2. Colloids - heterogeneous mixture that appear milky or translucent.

 Example : gelatin, cytosol

3. Suspension- heterogeneous mixture with large, often visible solutes.

 Example: blood
 SOME BASIC CHEMICAL TERMS
 8. Ions- charged particles.
 called Cations when positively charged.
 Anions when negatively charged
 Ions dissolved in solution are called electrolytes

9. Bonds - Chemical union of two or more atoms. Can be ionic,

covalent or hydrogen bond.
 Types of bonds

1. Ionic bond - electrons are completely transferred from one atom to

another.
 - An electron rich atom ( negatively charged ) transfers electrons to
electron deficient atom ( positively charged )
 Ex. Na+ + Cl- → NaCl

2. Covalent bond - Electrons are shared by the atoms.

 Example: O2

3. Hydrogen bond - Hydrogen atoms already linked covalently to one

electronegative atom is attracted by another electronegative atom .
 PATTERNS OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS
1 . synthesis : A + B → AB.
 -A bigger compound is formed by the union of two or more atoms.
 In terms of metabolism, synthetic reactions are called
anabolic.
 Synthetic reactions require energy

2. Decomposition : AB→A+B.
 A large molecule is broken down into constituent parts
 In the body, these types of reactions are called catabolic.
 These reactions release energy stored in the bonds between the
atoms.

 3. Exchange or displacement : AB+C→AC+B / AB+CD→AD+CB. -

Involves simultaneous synthesis and decomposition reactionswherein
bonds are both broken and made.
 pH

 Negative logarithm of the concentration of hydrogen ion.

 It is the measure of acidity or basicity.
 It ranges from 1-14. pH of 7 is neutral, less than 7 acidic,
 above 7 is basic.
 The greater the H+(hydronium or hydrogen ion)
concentration of a solution, the lesser is the pH and the stronger it is as an acid.
 -An acid donates H+ while a base is an acceptor of H+.
 Buffer
a solution that resists ph changes when an acid or base is added.
 Contains an acid and its conjugate base.
In the reaction: HA → H+ + A- , where HA is a strong acid, and A- is its conjugate base.
Movement of particles across a membrane
 CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF LIVING MATTER
Compounds in the body are classified as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids
and nucleic acids.
 A. CARBOHYDRATES
 Hydrates of carbon.
 Contain hydrogen, oxygen and carbon.
 -Can be monosaccharides, disaccharides or polysaccharide
Carbohydrates
 LIPIDS
 Group of compounds with diverse chemical structure and
composition, sharing the common property of being insoluble in
water but soluble in other lipids and organic compounds such as
ether, chloroform and alcohol.
 Usually classified according to their solubility
 Can be classified as simple lipids, complex lipid and precursor or
derived lipids
LIPIDS
 Functions of lipids:
 Functions of lipids:
1. As membrane structural components
2. Intracellular storage depot of metabolic fuel
3. Transport form of metabolic fuel
4. Receptors in nerve ending membranes
5. Determinants of immunologic specificity
6. Enzyme cofactors
PROTEINS
 polymer of amino acids
CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO:
A. Composition
1. Simple protein – contain amino
acids only
2. Compound protein - complex
or conjugated with non-amino
acid
e.g. Lipoproteins, Glycoproteins
B. Conformation
1. Fibrous
e.g. Collagen, Elastin, Keratin
2. Globular
e.g. Enzymes, Albumin
PROTEINS
 Biologic functions of proteins:
1. Catalytic role
 Ex. Enzymes
2. Contraction
 Ex. Actin and myosin
3. Gene regulation
 Ex. Histones, non-histone nuclear
proteins
4. Transport
 Ex. Transferring
5. Protection
 Ex. fibrin, immunoglobulin
6. Regulatory
 Ex. Protein hormones
7. Structural
 Ex. collagen
NUCLEIC ACIDS
 made up of nucleotides, a
molecule composed of a
nitrogenous base, phosphate
and pentose sugar
 DNA - central information
storage molecules
Carry the hereditary message of
the organism
 RNA - Needed in the synthesis
of cell protein
 Ex. tRNA,mRNA,rRNA
The Central Dogma
Central
Dogma