Macromolec

ules

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 Organic
Compounds
• Compounds that contain
CARBON are called organic.
organic

• Macromolecules are large

organic molecules.
molecules

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 Carbon (C)
• Carbon has 4 electrons in
outer shell.
• Carbon can form covalent
bonds with as many as 4
other atoms (elements).

• Usually with C, H, O or N.
N

• Example: CH4(methane)
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 Macromolecules
• Large organic molecules.
• Also called POLYMERS.
POLYMERS
• Made up of smaller “building
blocks” called MONOMERS.
MONOMERS
• Examples:
1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids
3. Proteins
4. Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)
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Carbohydrat
es

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 Carbohydrates

• Small sugar molecules to

large sugar molecules.
molecules

• Examples:
A. monosaccharide
B. disaccharide
C. polysaccharide
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 Carbohydrates
Monosaccharide: one sugar
unit

Examples: glucose (C
( 6H12O6)
deoxyribose
glucose ribose
Fructose
Galactose
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 Carbohydrates
Disaccharide: two sugar unit
Examples:
– Sucrose (glucose+fructose)
– Lactose (glucose+galactose)
– Maltose (glucose+glucose)

glucose glucose

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 Carbohydrates
Polysaccharide: many sugar units
Examples: starch (bread,
potatoes)
glycogen (beef
muscle)
glucose glucose cellulose
glucose (lettuce,
glucose
cellulose
corn)
glucose glucose glucose glucose

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Lipids

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 Lipids
• General term for compounds which are not
soluble in water.
water
• Lipids are soluble in hydrophobic solvents.
solvents
• Remember: “stores the most energy”
• Examples: 1. Fats
2. Phospholipids
3. Oils
4. Waxes
5. Steroid hormones
6. Triglycerides

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 Lipids
Six functions of lipids:
1. Long term energy storage
2. Protection against heat loss
(insulation)
3. Protection against physical shock
4. Protection against water loss
5. Chemical messengers (hormones)
6. Major component of membranes
(phospholipids)

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 Lipids
Triglycerides:
composed of 1 glycerol and
3 fatty acids.
acids
H O
=

H-C----O C-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3
O
=

H-C----O C-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3
O fatty acids
=

H-C----O C-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH =C
H -C
H H-
2 C
H-
2 C
H-
2 C
glycerol H-
2 C
H
3
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 Fatty Acids
There are two kinds of fatty acids you may see these on
food labels:
1. Saturated fatty acids: no double bonds (bad)

2. Unsaturated
O fatty acids: double bonds (good)
=

saturated C-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH3

O
=

unsaturated C-CH2-CH2-CH2-CH=CH
-C H
2 -CH
2 -CH
2 -CH
2 -CH
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Proteins

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 Proteins
(Polypeptides)
• Amino acids (20 different kinds of aa) bonded
together by peptide bonds (polypeptides).
polypeptides

• Six functions of proteins:

1. Storage: albumin (egg white)
2. Transport: hemoglobin
3. Regulatory: hormones
4. Movement: muscles
5. Structural: membranes, hair, nails
6. Enzymes: cellular reactions

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 Proteins
(Polypeptides)
Four levels of protein
structure:
A. Primary Structure
B. Secondary Structure
C. Tertiary Structure
D. Quaternary Structure

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Primary Structure
Amino acids bonded
together by peptide
bonds (straight chains)
Amino Acids (aa)

aa1 aa2 aa3 aa4 aa5 aa6

Peptide Bonds

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 Secondary Structure
• 3-dimensional folding
arrangement of a primary
structure into coils and pleats
held together by hydrogen bonds.
bonds
• Two examples:

Alpha Helix

Beta Pleated Sheet

Hydrogen Bonds
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 Tertiary Structure
• Secondary structures bent and
folded into a more complex 3-D
arrangement of linked
polypeptides
• Bonds: H-bonds, ionic, disulfide
bridges (S-S)
• Call a “subunit”.
Alpha Helix

Beta Pleated Sheet

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 Quaternary
Structure
• Composed of 2 or more “subunits”
• Globular in shape
• Form in Aqueous environments
• Example: enzymes (hemoglobin)

subunits

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Nucleic
Acids

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 Nucleic acids
• Two types:
a. Deoxyribonucleic acid
(DNA- double helix)
b. Ribonucleic acid (RNA-single
strand)
• Nucleic acids are composed of long
chains of nucleotides linked by
dehydration synthesis.
synthesis

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 Nucleic acids
• Nucleotides include:
phosphate group
pentose sugar (5-carbon)
nitrogenous bases:
adenine (A)
thymine (T) DNA only
uracil (U) RNA only
cytosine (C)
guanine (G)

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 Nucleotide
Phosphate
Group

O 5
O=P-O CH2
O
O
N
Nitrogenous base
C4 C 1
(A, G, C, or T)
Sugar
(deoxyribose)
Ccopyright
3
C2
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 DNA
5
O
- double helix
3

3
O
P 5 P
5
O
1 G C 3
2
4 4
2 1
3 5
O
P P
5
T A 3

O
5
P 3 P
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