The Chemistry of Life

FOREWORD

I will apologise straight away for the number of links on this page, but we have to get through an awful lot of technical information if we are even to begin to describe the chemistry of life and, rather than explain everything in detail, I thought a few dozen links to Wikipediamay be preferable to a long monologue of boring, but necessary information in this article.

FROM BEGINNING TO START

Every biological entity comprises of six primary elements, these six elements:-carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, calcium, and phosphorus-make up almost 99% of the mass of every living cell, from these six elements four main classes of biomoleculesare produced, these are; carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Carbohydrates

A carbohydrate is a biological molecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atomratio of 2:1 (as in water); There are more carbohydrates on Earth than any other known type of biomolecule; they are used to store energy and genetic information, as well as play important roles in cell to cell interactions and communications.

Lipids

Lipids comprise a group of naturally occurring moleculesthat include fats, waxes, sterols, etc and can be broadly categorized as hydrophobicor amphiphilic small molecules. The amphiphilic nature of some lipids allows them to form structures such as vesicles, multilamellar/unilamellar liposomes, or membranes in an aqueous environment. Therefore the main biological functions of lipids include energy storage, signalling, and acting as structural components of cell membranes.

Proteins

Proteins are very large molecules – macro-biopolymers – made from monomers called amino acids. There are 20 standard amino acids, each containing a carboxyl group, an amino group, and a side-chain. The side-chain is what makes each amino acid different, and the properties of the side-chains greatly influence the overall three-dimensional conformation of a protein. Amino acids can be joined via a peptide bond. In this dehydration synthesis, a water molecule is removed and the peptide bond connects the nitrogen of one amino acid’s amino group to the carbon of the other’s carboxylic acid group. There are hundreds of amino acids in a protein molecule.

Some proteins perform largely structural roles, but the most important proteins, are the enzymes. Virtually every reaction in a living cell requires an enzyme to lower the activation energy of the reaction. These molecules recognize specific reactant molecules called substrates; they then catalyze the reaction between them. By lowering the activation energy, the enzyme speeds up that reaction, but the activity of the enzyme can be regulated using various modifiers, enabling control of the biochemistry of the cell as a whole.

Nucleic Acids

Nucleic acids, so called because of its prevalence in cellular nuclei, is the generic name of the family of biopolymers. They are complex, high-molecular-weight biochemical macromolecules that can convey genetic information in all living cells and viruses. The monomers are called nucleotides, and each consists of three components: a nitrogenous heterocyclic base (either a purine or a pyrimidine), a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group. The most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). The phosphate group and the sugar of each nucleotide bond with each other to form the backbone of the nucleic acid, while the sequence of nitrogenous bases stores the information.

SUMMARY

That was the easy bit, we have just described the chemistry of every dead living thing; six elements and four classes of biomolecules is all it takes to identify every living thing. In the laboratory when we are asked to solve certain types of problems we use simple, but specific, tests to identify/eliminate organic and inorganic matter from our enquiries.

The real question now is:
’How does chemistry explain a simple tender moment, a smile of happiness or the need to feed?’
If we can answer these questions then we have the problems of the world in our hands.