Biochemistry : The study of chemicals in relation to living organisms is known as biochemistry. In biochemistry many chemicals are studied. These are as follows:
Acid : It is a compound tending to raise the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution and lowering its pH numerically.
Base : A compound tending to lower the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution and raise its pH numerically.
Buffer : A substance or group of substances that tend to resist pH changes in a solution, thus stabilizing its relative acidity.
Compound : A substance having two or more different elements united chemically in fixed ratio.
Covalent Bond : A chemical bond in which atoms share one pair of electrons.
Electron : A negative subatomic particle, orbiting about in an energy level around the nucleus of an atom.
Energy : Ability to do work and bring about change; occurs in a variety of forms.
Hydrogen Bond : A weak bond that arises between a slightly positive hydrogen atom of one molecule and a slightly negative atom of another molecule or between parts of the same molecule.
Hydrophilic : A type of molecule that interacts with water by dissolving in water and/or forming hydrogen bonds with water molecules. Water loving substance.
Hydrophobic : A type of molecule that does not interact with water because it is nonpolar water repelling substances are called hydrophilic.
Ion : Charged derivative of an atom—positive if the atom loses electrons and negative if the atom gains electrons.
Ionic Bond : A chemical bond in which ions are attracted to one another by opposite charges.
Isotopes : Atoms having the same atomic number but different atomic weights or mass number.
Atom : The smallest particle of an element which shows its properties.
Molecule : The smallest part of a compound that retains the properties of the compound; also the union of two or more atoms of the same element.
Orbital : The space around a nucleus where electrons can be found most of the time.
Oxidation : A loss of one or more electrons from an atom or molecule with a concurrent release of energy; in biological systems, generally the loss of hydrogen atoms.
pH Scale : The measuring scale for the hydrogen ion concentration [H+] of a solution.
Polar Covalent Bond : A bond in which the sharing of electrons between atoms takes place.
Reduction : A gain of electrons by an atom or molecule with a concurrent storage of energy; in biological systems, generally the gain of hydrogen atoms.
Condensation : The joining of monomers by covalent bonding with the accompanying loss of water molecules.
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) : A polymer produced from covalent bonding of nucleotide monomers that contain the sugar deoxyribose; the genetic material of nearly all organisms.
Enzyme : An organic catalyst usually a protein molecule, that speeds up chemical reactions in living systems.
Hydrolysis : Splitting of a compound by the addition of water, with the H+ being incorporated in one fragment and the OH– in the other.
Inorganic Molecule : A type of molecule that is an inorganic molecule; not derived from a living organism.
Isomers : Molecules with the same molecular formula but different structure and, therefore shape.
Lipid : A class of organic compounds that tend to be soluble in nonpolar solvents such as alcohol; includes fats and oils.
Nucleic Acid : A polymer of nucleotides; both DNA and RNA are nucleic acids.
Organic Molecule : A type of molecule that contains carbon and hydrogen; it may also have oxygen attached to the carbon(s).
Phospholipid : A molecule having the same structure as a neutral fat except one bonded fatty acid is replaced by a group that contains phosphate; an important component of plasma membranes.
Polymer : Macromolecule consisting of covalently bonded monomers; for example, a protein is a polymer of monomers called amino acids.
RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) : A nucleic acid produced from covalent bonding of nucleotide monomers that contain the sugar ribose; RNA helps DNA carry out protein synthesis.
Steroid : A type of lipid molecule having four interlocking rings; examples are cholesterol, progesterone and testosterone.
Cellular Energy
Active Site : That part of an enzyme molecule where the substrate fits and the chemical reaction occurs.
ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate) : One of the products of the hydrolysis of ATP, a process that liberates energy.
Aerobic Respiration : Metabolic reactions that require oxygen and provide energy to cells by the step-by-step oxidation of substrates in mitochondria with the concomitant build of ATP molecules.
ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) : A compound containing adenine, ribose and three phosphates. The breakdown of ATP to ADP makes energy available for energy requiring processes in cells.
Chemiosmotic Phosphorylation : The production of ATP by using the energy released when H+ flows through an ATP synthase complex in mitochondria and chloroplasts.
Coenzyme : A nonprotein organic part of an enzyme structure often with a vitamin as a subpart.
Denatured : The condition of an enzyme when its shape is changed so that its active site cannot bind substrate molecules.
Electron Transport System : A mechanism whereby electrons are passed along a series of carrier molecules, releasing energy for the synthesis of ATP.
FAD (Flavin-adenine Dinucleotide) : A coenzyme that functions as an electron acceptor in cellular oxidation reduction reactions.
Feedback Inhibition : A process by which a substance, often an end product of a reaction or a metabolic pathway, controls its own continued production by binding with the enzyme that produced it.
Metabolism : All chemical reactions that occur in a cell during degradation and synthesis which involve and produce metabolities.
NAD+ (Nicotinamide Adenine dinucleotide) : A coenzyme that functions as an electron carrier in cellular oxidation reduction reactions of glycolysis and cellular respiration.
NADP+ (Nicotinamide-adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate) : A coenzyme that functions as an electron carrier in cellular oxidation-reduction reactions of photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis : A process occurring within chloroplasts whereby chlorophyll traps solar energy and carbon dioxide and reduced to a carbohydrate.
Substrate : The reactant in an enzymatic reaction; each enzyme has a specific substrate.
Substrate-level Phosphorylation : An enzymatic process in which ATP is formed by transferring a phosphate from a metabolic substrate to ADP.
Vitamin : An organic molecule that is required in small quantities for various biological processes and must be in an organism’s diet because it cannot be synthesized by the organism; often becomes part of coenzyme structure.
Small molecules of life
Amino Acids : They are the building blocks of proteins. Chemically, they are compounds containing amino (NH2) and carboxyl (COOH) groups and produced from proteins by hydrolysis.
Carbohydrates : Compounds of C, H and O. When digested all carbohydrates which serve as food are broken down into simple sugars.
Cellulose : A carbohydrate forming main part of plants cell walls. This is an organic substance of glucoside group (polysaccharides) which have very long fibres and constitute the structure of cell walls in plants.
Fat : Any of a class of naturally occurring mixtures consisting of glyceryl esters of certain acids. Fat is a concentrated energy source. Chemically, it can be saturated or unsaturated.
Glycogen : A carbohydrate storage product of plants and animals. A polysaccharide substance resulting from the union of a large number of glucose molecules in the form of a reserve in liver and muscles.
Hexose : A genetic name for glucosides with six carbon atoms as glucose and fructose.
Lipid : A collective term used to describe a group of substances in cells characterised by their solubility in organic solvents and their absence of solubility in water.
Nucleotide : The compound formed by condensation of a nitrogenous base with a sugar (ribose or deoxyribose) and phosphoric acid.
Nucleoside : A molecule consisting of purine or pyrimidine base linked to a sugar (either ribose or deoxyribose).
Protein : Proteins are polypeptides i.e. they are made up of amino acid molecules joined together by peptide links.
Peptide : Peptides are formed when carboxyl group of one amino acid reacts with amino group of another amino acid.
Starch : A polysaccharide that occurs exclusively in plants.
Cellular macromolecules
Amylase : An enzyme which converts starch into sugar. Generally it is known as amylotic enzyme, which means starch digesting.
Amyloplast : Colourless plastid (leucoplast) storing starch.
Amylose : The water soluble fraction of starch.
Antibody : A protein molecule formed within the body of an animal in order to neutralize the effect of foreign invading protein (antigen).
Cellulose : A polysaccharide forming the framework of the cell walls of all plants except fungi. Cellulose molecules are unbranched chains that together form a rigid structure of high tensile strength.
Carnivore : A flesh eating animal.
Cytochromes : Conjugated proteins containing heme, that act as intermediates in electron transport chain.
Glucose : A monosaccharide occurring widely in nature as D glucose. It occurs as glucose units in glycogen (hydrolysis to glucose) and sucrose (hydrolysis to glucose and fructose).
Glyceride : An ester of glycerine or glycerol. These may be mono or triglycerides according to number of OH groups esterified.
Glycerol : It is an alcohol with three OH groups.
Glycogen : A polysaccharide that is the main carbohydrates store of animals. It is stored largely in liver and in muscles. After a meal, most of glucose contained in food is absorbed via intestine and blood and converted to glycogen in liver.
Homeostasis : The maintenance of a constant internal environment by an organism.
Haemoglobin : The pigment of RBC that is responsible for the transport of O2 from the lungs to tissues. It consists of basic protein globin linked with heme.
Insulin : A hormone that controls the metabolism of glucose. Lack of insulin results in diabetes, but excess insulin leads to coma.
Keratin : One of a group of fibrous insoluble proteins (scleroproteins) found in ectodermal cells of animal, as in hair, horns and nails. Leather is almost pure keratin.
Myoglobin : A conjugated protein found in muscles. Each molecule of myoglobin can attach one atom of oxygen.
Oleic Acid : An unsaturated fatty acid occurring as glyceride in oils and fats.
Polysaccharide : High molecular polymers of the monosaccharides or sugars.
Peptide : Peptides can be regarded as formed by a reaction in which the carboxyl group of one amino acid reacts with amino group of another amino acid by elimination of water.
Prosthetic Group : The non-protein group of conjugated protein.
Parathyroid Glands : Four oval shaped structures embedded in the thyroid gland. They produce mormone that controls that blood calcium level.
Starch : A polysaccharide, that occurs exclusively in plants. Starch is a mixture of amylose (water soluble, blue colour with iodine) and amylopectin (not water soluble, violet colour with iodine). The composition of mylose 10-20% amylopectin 80-90%.
Enzymes
Allosteric Site : A part of an enzyme to which a specific effector or modulator can be attached. Allosteric enzymes possess an allosteric site in addition to their active site.
Catalyst : A substance that increases the rate of chemical reaction without being used up in the reaction. Enzymes are highly efficient and specific biochemical catalysts.
Denaturation : A process that causes proteins to undergo unfolding of the characteristic structure of peptide chain. This is affected by a variety of factors such as high temperature etc.
Enzymes : A proteinaceous compound that catalyses biochemical reactions.
Michaelis Constant (Km) : Km of an enzyme is the substrate concentration at which the reaction attains half of its maximum velocity.pH : Symbol used in expressing hydrogen ion concentration. pH of neutral solution is 7; pH of acidic solution is less than 7 and pH of alkaline solution is greater than 7.
Pepsin : An enzyme secreted by the cells of gastric glands. It acts on proteins to form polypeptides.
Trypsin : An enzyme of pancreatic juice. It catalyses the hydrolysis of peptide linkage in proteins and partially hydrolysed protein.
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