Part 1

Biochemical Basic Knowledge for Food Enzyme

Chapter

WATER This chapter begins with descriptions

of the physical and chemical properties of water, to which all aspects of cell structure and function are adapted.

1. Weak interactions in aqueous systems 2. Ionization of water, weak acids, and

weak bases 3. Buffering against pH changes in biological systems

1. Weak interactions in aqueous systems

Hydrogen bonds, ionic, hydrophobic, and Van der waals interactions are weak, but they have a very significant influence on the threedimensional structures of proteins, nucleic acids, polysaccharides and membrane lipids.

Hydrogen bond
The oxygen nucleus attracts
electrons more strongy than does the hydrogen nucleus; that is, oxygen is more electronegative. The sharing electrons between H and O is therefore unequal. As a result, there is an electrostatic attraction between the oxygen atom of one water molecule and hydrogen of another, called a hydrogen bond.

 Hydrogen bonds are relative weak.

Those in liquid water have a bond dissociation energy (the energy required to break a bond) of about 23 kJ/mol, compared with 470 kJ/mol for the covalent O-H in water or 348 kJ/mol for a covalent C-C bond.

Ionic interaction
Water is especially effective in screening
the electrostatic interaction between dissolved ions because it has a high dielectric constant (78.5). The strengh, or force (F), of ionic interactions in a solution: Q1Q2 F = .r2

Hydrophobic interaction
When an amphipathic compound
(contain regions that are polar and regions that are nonpalar), is mixed with water, the polar, hydrophilic region interacts favorably with the solvent and tends to dissolve, but the nonpolar, hydrophobic regions tends to avoid contact with water.

Polar

Nonpolar

Amphipathic

The nonpolar regions of the molecules cluster together to present the smallest hydrophobic area, and the polar regions are arranged to maximize their interaction to the solvent. These stable structures in water called micelles. The forces that hold the nonpolar regions of the molecules together are called hydrophobic interactions.

Van der Waals Interactions

When 2 uncharged atoms are brought
very close to gether, their surrounding electron clouds influence each other. Random variations in positions of the electrons around one nucleus may create a transient electric dipole, which induces a transient, opposite electric dipole in the nearby atom, bring 2 nuclei closer. These weakly attraction are called van der Waals interactions.

Hydrogen bond

Ionic interactions

Hydrophobic interactions

Van der Waals interactions

2. Ionization of water, weak

acids, and weak bases

Water molecules have a slight tendency to

undergo reversible ionization to yield a hydrogen ion and a hydroxide ion, giving the equilibrium

H2O
Keq
=

H+ + OH+ -

The equilibrium ][OH ] constant [H

[H2O]

[H2O] = 55.5 M Keq = 1.8 x 10-16

pH = -log [H+]

Problems
1. What is the concentration of H+ in a
solution of 0.1 M NaOH ? 2. What is the concentration of OH- in a solution with an H+ concentration of 1.3 x 10-4 M?

Weak acids and bases

HA
Keq
=

H+ + A[H+][A-]

[HA]

=K

Ka : dissociation constant pKa = -log Ka

Titration curve reveal the pKa of weak acid

Consider the titration of a 0.1 M solution

of acetic acid with 0.1 M NaOH
H2O HAc H+ + OHH+ + Ac-

At the midpoint, the pH of the solution of

acetic acid and acetate is equal to pKa

3. Buffering against pH changes in biological system

Buffers are queous systems that tend to

resist changes in pH when small amounts of acid (H+) or base (OH-) are added. A buffer system consists of a weak acid and its conjugate base. As an example, a mixture of equal concentration sof acetic acid and acetate ion, found at the midpoint of titration curve, is a buffer.

Henderson-Hasselbalch equation
HA
Ka
=
[HA]

H+ + A[H+][A-]

[H+] =

Ka[HA]
[A-] [HA] [A-]

-log[H+] = -log Ka -log

[HA-]

pH = pKa + log

[A]

problems
1. Calculate the pKa of lactic acid, given
that when the concentration of lactic acid is 0.01 M and concentration of lactate is 0.087 M, the pH is 4.8. (3.9) 2. Calculate the pH of a mixture of 0.1 M acetic acid and 0.2 M sodium acetate. The pKa of acetic acid is 4.76. (5.1). 3. Calculate the ratio of the concentrations of acetate and acetic acid required in a

 4. Simulated vinegar: one way to make

vinegar is to prepare a solution of acetic acid component of vinegar, at the proper pH (see Fig.2-15) and add appropriate flavoring agents. Acetic acid is a liquid at 25oC, with a density of 1.049 g/ml. Calculate the volume that must be added to distilled water to make 1 lit of simulated vinegar. (Ka = 1.74 x 10-5M)

 5. Acidity of gastric HCl: In a hospital

laboratory, a 10.0 ml sample of gastric juice, otained several hours after meal, was titrated with 0.1 M NaOH to neutrality; 7.2 ml of NaOH was required. The patient's stomach contained no ingested food or drink, thus assume that no buffers were present. What was the pH of the gastric juice?

 6. Working with buffers: A buffer

contains 0.01 mol of lactic acid (pKa=3,86) and 0.05 mol of sodium lactate per liter.
Calculate the pH of the buffer. Calculate the change in pH when 5 mL of 0.5 M HCl is added to 1 L of buffer. What pH change would you expect if you added the same quantity of HCl to 1 L of pure water?