BIOL 1010 Lecture Notes - Thymine, Cytosine, Pentose
Document Summary
The structure and function of large biological molecules. Important classes of large biological molecules (the first three are often call. I. macromolecules because of their huge size) polysaccharides (a subset of carbohydrates) proteins nucleic acids lipids. Function as fuel for the cell and building materials: monosaccharides (fig 5. 3, molecular formula ch2o (e. g. glucose c6h12o6) Monosaccharides are used as nutrients for the generation of cellular energy carbon skeletons for the synthesis of other small organic molecules incorporation into structural or storage polymers. Monosaccharides vary in a number of ways including: the location of carbonyl group aldehyde - aldose sugar - glucose ketone - ketose sugar - fructose, the length of carbon chain. 3 to 7 carbon sugars: the groups attached to asymmetric carbons. 1,4-glycosidic linked glucose monomers form a straight polymer that is never branched. Differences in glucose monomer configuration results in starch and cellulose polymers having very different configurations (starch is helical; cellulose is straight).