BIOC 2300 Study Guide - Final Guide: Signal Transduction, Molecular Machine, Excluded Volume
19 Apr 2014
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
An important property involves its interaction with a wide range of substances. Thin, flexible, stable sheet-like structures that enclose all living cells and organelles. Phospholipid bilayer has integral and peripheral membrane proteins. Hydrophilic head facing out, hydrophobic tail facing in. Many biomolecules spontaneously undergo self-assembly into supermolecular structures. Ex: ribosomes, large protein complexes like sarcomeres and proteasomes. They do this because they already have the steric information required. In some cases the assembly process requires assistance. The folding of some proteins require the help of molecular chaperones. Many multisubunit complexes involved in cellular processes function as molecular machines. Molecular machines = physical entities with moving parts that perform work, the product of force and distance. The interior space within cells is dense and crowded. The excluded volume (volume occupied by macromolecules) may be between. 20-40: non-specific steric repulsion prevents the introduction of additional macromolecules, remaining space is available for small molecules.
