BIOL 1010 Lecture Notes - Acetaldehyde, Citric Acid Cycle, Glycolysis
Document Summary
Oxidation-reduction reactions- chemical reaction which involve a partial or complete transfer of electrons from one reaction to another; called redox reactions for short. Oxidation partial or complete loss of electrons. Reduction partial or complete gain of electrons. The electron transport chain is made of electron carrier molecules embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Each successive carrier in the chain has a higher electro negativity than the carrier before it, so the electrons are pulled downhill toward oxygen, the final electron acceptor and the molecule with the highest electro negativity. Except for ubiquinone (q), most of the carrier molecules are proteins and are tightly bound to prosthetic groups (non- protein cofactors) Prosthetic groups alternate between reduced and oxidized states as they accept and donate electrons. In cellular respiration, an electron transport chain breaks the fall of electron in this reaction into a series of smaller steps.
