BIOC 2580 Chapter Notes -Amine, Molecular Mass, Myoglobin
17 Oct 2013
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Synopsis: molecules of interest to biochemists may be classified as small molecules and macromolecules. Macromolecules are huge by comparison - molar masses from 104 to over 109 g. mol- 1. What makes it possible to comprehend structures of this magnitude is their modular construction from much simpler smaller molecular units. Proteins are chains of linked amino acids. Each amino acid has a unique side chain. Review: chem*1040 notes regarding electronegativity and lewis structures. Classes of molecules found in biochemistry: Small molecules: sugars, amino acids, nucleotides, fatty acids, simple carboxylic acid derivatives. For this reason, the first half of the semester will focus on proteins and their role. For example, myoglobin (right) is a protein that stores o2 in muscle tissue. Typical protein molecules have molecular masses between 10 000 and 100 000 g. mol 1, so they contain literally thousands of atoms. Myoglobin has a molecular mass of 16 500 g. mol 1.
