Lecture 1

Origins of biochemistry

Origins of biochemsitry

Geologists made the first discoveries that questioned  the biblical teachings of god as creator

Geology

Geology

Geology

Geology

Geology

Geology

Geology;Age of the earth

Geology; age of the earth

Evolution

Evolution

Evolution is an essential part of biochemistry

Darwin cont.

The answer came from Mendel

How did life begin and why are living things composed of particular molecules

Biochemistry is complex but it all makes sense

Periodic table

Why are all organisms compose of a handful of different elements.  99% of our mass is composed of 4 elements H, O, C, N.

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Lewis Dot Structure

Remember organic chemistry?
Ionic bond

Formation of an ionic bond

Ionization in motion

Central to biomolecules is Carbon. Carbon-carbon single bonds show free rotation, while carbon=carbon double bonds are rigid.  Carbon can form a multitude of bonds unlike any other element.

Covalent bonds

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Polar vs nonpolar covalent bonds

Water

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Nomenclature of Organic Molecules

alkanes

Alkanes alkenes and alkynes

Hydrocarbons are the building block of organic molecules found in living things.  Replacement of hydrogen with other functional groups give organic molecules their unique properties.

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Dissociation constants and Acid-Base chemistry

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Titration of weak acids and bases

Biomolecules

DNA and RNA

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A major form of polysaccharide found in the extracellular matrix is hyaluronic acid shown below

This glycosaminoglycan can contain hundreds of repeating units.  They can further combine with proteins to form proteoglycans where a multiple glycosaminoglycans attach to a core protein.  These structures can be massive.  One called aggrecan is found in cartilage can be on the order of 3 million molecular weight and be the size of a bacteria.

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