CELL CHEMISTRY

SRI WAHYUNI
BIOCHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF MEDICINE
UNIVERSITAS MALIKUSSALEH
 Introduction
In the human body, there are at least 200 different cell types.
The component of all cells are water (70%), macromolecules
(proteins, nucleic acids, polysaccharides, lipid), small organic
molecules, inorganic ions
The majority of the macromolecules are proteins (55%)
Structure of an animal cell:
 PROTEIN
Proteins are most versatile macromolecules in living
systems and serve crucial functions in essentially all
biological processes

Function of protein:
– as catalysts
– as transport and store other molecules such as oxygen
– provide mechanical support and immune protection
– generate movement
– transmit nerve impulses
– control growth and differentiation.
 Amino acids are subunits of proteins
Amino acids possess
– a carboxylic acid group
– an amino group linked to α-carbon
– side chain:
determine chemical property

The electrical charges of peptides and proteins are mainly determined by

groups in the side chains, as most α-carboxyl and α-amino functions are
linked to peptide bonds.
 Amino Acid
Proteins ( a polypeptide) are
– polymers of AA (only L-form) joined by peptide bond
– Only 20 proteinogenic amino acids are included in
the genetic code and therefore the 20 AA are found
commonly in proteins

Several nonproteinogenic amino acids function

as intermediates in the synthesis and
breakdown of proteinogenic amino acids and
in the urea cycle.
Proteinogenic amino acids
Proteinogenic amino acids
Proteinogenic amino acids
 Shape and structure of proteins
Shape of a protein Is
specified by its amino acid
sequence that linked by
peptide bond so proteins
are known as polypeptides.

Repeating sequence of
atoms along core of
polypeptide chain is
polypeptide backbone.
The folding of a protein chain
is
– constrained by many
different noncovalent bonds
hydrogen bonds
ionic bonds
van der Waals
attractions
– involve atoms in
polypeptide backbone and
in side chains.
hydrophobic molecules
(nonpolar side chains of amino
acids: phenylalanine, leucine,
valine, and tryptophan) tend
– to cluster in interior of molecule
– to avoid contact with water that
surrounds them inside a cell.

polar side chains of arginine,

glutamine, and histidine:
– tend to arrange themselves near
outside of molecule
– can form hydrogen bonds with
water and with other polar
molecules.
CLASSIFICATION
 Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates:
– are a group of naturally occurring carbonyl compounds
(aldehydes or ketones) that also contain several hydroxyl groups
– include single sugars (monosaccharides) and their
polymers, the oligosaccharides and polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are used by many organisms as building

materials
– cell walls of bacteria contain murein as a stabilizing component
– cell walls of plants contain cellulose and other polysaccharides
– cell membranes (center) contain glycolipids and glycoproteins
 Function of carbohydrates
Function of carbohydrates:
– as energy stores, fuels, and metabolic intermediates.
– ribose and deoxyribose sugars form part of the
structural framework of RNA and DNA
– polysaccharides are structural elements in the cell
walls of bacteria and plants.
– carbohydrates are linked to many proteins and lipids,
where they play key roles in mediating interactions
among cells and interactions between cells and other
elements in the cellular environment.
Important Monosaccharides
Aldopentose (D-ribose) is a component of RNA
and of nucleotide coenzymes and is widely distributed.

Aldohexoses:
– D-glucose is accounted for by glucose polymers
– Free D-glucose is found in plant juices (“grape sugar”)
and as “blood sugar” in the blood of higher animals.
– D-galactose is milk sugar
– Together with D-mannose, galactose is found in
glycolipids and glycoproteins
Important Polysaccharides
Dextrans are used as components of blood plasma
substitutes

Starches is the most important vegetable reserve

carbohydrate and polysaccharides from plant cell
walls

Glycogen is the reserve carbohydrate that is stored

in the liver and musculature in particular
Lipids and Cell Membranes
The lipid components of the membrane form the
permeability barrier, and protein components act as a
transport system of pumps and channels that endow the
membrane with selective permeability.

Cell membrane prevent molecules generated inside the

cell from leaking out and unwanted molecules from
diffusing in; yet they also contain transport systems that
allow specific molecules to be taken up and unwanted
compounds to be removed from the cell.

Such transport systems confer on membranes the

important property of selective permeability.
Fatty acids are components of cell membranes
Fatty acids constructs bilayer of cell membranes in form
phospholipids

Phospholipids is amphipathic (hydrophobic & hydrophilic

regions)
hydrophobic tails facing air
hydrophilic heads in contact with water.
 Fatty acids
A fatty acid has two chemically distinct
regions:
– a long hydrocarbon chain (saturated or
unsaturated):
hydrophobic & not very reactive
chemically

– a carboxyl (-COOH) group:

Reactive & covalently linked to
other molecules
a carboxylic acid & ionized in
solution (-COO-)
extremely hydrophilic

Common fatty acids in animal fat:

– Saturated: palmitic acid & stearic acid
– Unsaturated: oleic acid
 Phospholipids and Glycolipids
Phospholipid:
– Phospholipids are main constituents of biological membranes
– Their common feature is a phosphate residue that is esterified
with the hydroxyl group at C-3 of glycerol
– Due to this residue, phospholipids have at least one negative
charge at a neutral pH.

Glycolipids
– are present in all tissues on the outer surface of the plasma
membrane.
– consist of sphingosine, a fatty acid, and an oligosaccharide
residue, which can sometimes be quite large.
– The phosphate residue typical of phospholipids is
absent.
 Nucleic acids
Nucleic acids play a central role in the storage and
expression of genetic information
They are divided into two major classes:
– deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) functions solely in
information storage
– ribonucleic acids (RNAs) are involved in most
steps of gene expression and protein biosynthesis.
All nucleic acids are made up from nucleotide
components, which in turn consist of a base, a sugar,
and a phosphate residue.
DNA and RNA differ from one another in the type of the
sugar and in one of the bases that they contain.
Nucleic acids:
– RNA:
- the sugar is ribose & the bases are A, G, C, & U
- in cells usually a single polynucleotide chain

– DNA:
- sugar is deoxyribose & bases are A, G, C, and T
(T = U in RNA)
- always in double helix: two polynucleotide
chains running antiparallel to each other and
held together by hydrogen-bonding between
bases of two chains.

Linear sequence of nucleotides in a DNA or an RNA

encodes genetic information of cell.
 Two chemical reactions occur in cells

1. Catabolic pathways break down

foodstuffs into smaller molecules,
& generate
• energy for cell
• building blocks of cell

2. Anabolic, or biosynthetic, pathways

use energy to synthesis of many
other molecules that form the cell.
Synthesis reactions of macromolecules need
energy from ATP hydrolysis
ATP (nucleotides)
– can transfer energy in cellular reactions
– Its terminal phosphate group is split off by hydrolysis to
release energy to drives energy-requiring biosynthetic
reactions
 ATP
The nucleotide coenzyme adenosine triphosphate
(ATP) is the most important form of chemical energy in all
cells.
Cleavage of ATP is strongly exergonic.
The energy this provides is used to drive endergonic
processes (such as biosynthesis and movement and
transport processes)
 Types of ATP Formation
Only a few compounds contain phosphate residues with
a group transfer potential that is high enough to transfer
them to ADP and thus allow ATP synthesis
Processes that raise anorganic phosphate to this type of
high potential are called substrate level
hosphorylations.
Reactions of this type take place in glycolysis and in the
tricarboxylic acid cycle.
Another “energy-rich” phosphate compound is creatine
phosphate, which is formed from ATP in muscle and can
regenerate ATP as needed.