Harry Sedgwick

teacher: Gill Ball

Subject: biology
Biological molecules -
h20 (water) enzymes carbohydrates vitamins proteins fats DNA
^ Important macromolecules which are essential for living organisms
- Carbohydrates - foods containing large amounts of carbohydrates are - BREAD,
PASTA, RICE etc - carbohydrates are called starch
- Proteins - found in large quantities in FISH MEAT EGGS etc. there are a huge
variety of proteins. They make around 10,000 different proteins in our
body’s e.g. protease, keratin (hair nails), collagen (connective tissue) (often
an enzyme if ends in ESE)
- Fats - found BUTTER OIL MEAT CHEESE etc. fat is a solid at room temp, oil is a
liquid, fatty acids, glycerol, phospholipids.
- The carbs, protein, fats, DNA. Are all macromolecules, containing hundreds of
thousands of atoms or chemical elements. CARBON, HYDROGEN, OXYGEN
(make up macromolecules)
- In addition proteins require nitrogen and sulphur. DNA contains C, H, O, N and
P---------- MACROMOLECULES ARE ALL POLYMERS!!!

Polymers are made by CONDENSATION REACTIONS between monomers:

Monomers are made from the

polymers when needed by the
body for energy; this is called
HYDROLYSIS (water splitting)
Structures of molecules -
- Typical structure of an alpha molecule -
C6 H12 O6 is structure of a molecule.

- This is 2 simple diagrams of glucose showing a condensation reaction -

Adding further alpha glucose molecules results eventually in polysaccharides

(e.g. maltose) - either called starch or glycogen (animal starch)
If we digest starch we break it down into glucose (monomers) - this will go into our
bloodstream and into our liver - if we have too much, then we store as
glycogen, if not we use it for energy.
We find starch in plants and vegetation and glycogen in animal cells
There are more branches in a glycogen store
- a simple diagram of beta glucose -

It’s flipped over to fit <

Cellulose is polysaccharide of beta glucose (linked 1:4). It forms long straight
chains which lay side to side to form micro fibrils
Found in plants ONLY as fibrous cell walls. Animals do not process the enzyme
needed to digest cellulose it is called fibre in our diet
Isomers - have same formula e.g. glucose can be fructose

- Amino acids -
- Building blocks of protein e.g. -

- General formula - there are approx 20 different amino-acids. They have

same structural features in common -

- Condensation reaction between the amino-acids -

Peptide linkage (bond - only 2 amino acids)

Polypeptide (bond - chain of amino-acids)
Protein (fully finished chain)

Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary protein structures –

Fats -
- Several names for fats - lipids, triglycerides, fats, oils, phospholipids (in
plasma membrane)
- Foods - crisps, chips (anything fried), chocolate, dairy products,
- The essential fats are - olive oil, oily fish etc - they are needed in our
diet
- Fats are composed of fatty acids and glycerol
- There are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
A triglyceride - is made up of 1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids -

- Fatty acids vary in structure depending on their source.

- Hydrocarbon tail - carboxylic acid - vary in length (usually 1 or more carbon

atoms)
- When a fat is eaten it is digested into fatty acids and glycerol by the enzyme
lipase. This is an example of a hydrolysis reaction.
- When a human fat is made in the cell, fatty acids and glycerol are joined by an
enzyme reaction into triglycerides. The type of reaction is a condensation
reaction.

HALF TERM!!!
Writing up any practical (e.g. for immobilized enzymes) –
Title – aim –what are you trying to do? / find out?
Introduction – see background to the topic as appropriate
E.g. what is an immobilized enzyme? What are the advantages of their
use?
Give an example of this and another process used commercially (detail)
Apparatus – Just list??
Safety – there were no safety hazards
Method – procedure e.g. a 1% solution was prepared ---- totally impersonal
Result + conclusion – what u found out? Demonstrated –look back at aim
Enzyme Activity -

- Use the lock and key mechanism e.g.

- The enzymes help lower the activation energy

- the temperature, Ph, enzyme and substrate concentration of a reaction
can change the speed of a reaction - temp and PH need to be at optimum level to
influence enzymes to work quicker. The more enzymes in a reaction and the less
of the substrate the quicker it will be. This works the other way round as well.

- Graphs to show influence of activity -

 Non-competitive inhibition- is a type of inhibition that reduces the maximum
rate of a chemical reaction without changing the apparent binding affinity of the
catalyst for the substrate in the case of enzyme inhibition.
Competitive inhibition - is a form of enzyme inhibition where binding of the
inhibitor to the enzyme prevents binding of the substrate and vice versa.
Enzymes -
- Questions -
1. What are enzymes made of? - They
Are made of proteins
2. What are enzymes? - They are a type of bacterium that breaks specific
substances down they can also catalyze reactions and can reduce the amount of
energy needed for reaction
3. Give 2 examples of how humans have used enzymes outside the cell -
1. One example is that humans have used it for transport e.g. to make
economical pollution free fuel for a hydrogen bus
2. Lots of industrial processes e.g. used for stain removal purposes
4. Which environment conditions are enzymes sensitive to and why? - Enzymes
are sensitive to the levels of PH and the temperature around them. This is
because of their structure of the molecules.
5. What is the meaning of the term -
Metabolism - constant chemical activity in the cell and the rate of
these reactions.
Metabolic pathway - energy is broken down small controlled steps.
Activation energy - is the least amount of energy needed to make
molecules react with each other.
6. Sketch fig 3 in book, using it to refer to, explains how enzymes work (include
activation energy) - line c shows the reaction with the intervention of a catalyst
(enzyme) therefore this has a lower activation energy, where line d does not
Theory of upcoming practical -
` - enzyme + substrate ↔ enzyme/substrate complex ↔ enzyme + products
E.g. - protease + protein ↔ amino-acids.
- How the concentration of then inhibiter effects the digestion of the substrate.
- Method - is in the sheet
- Safety hazards - protease and copper - gloves and washed hands
- Results (raw data in cm (+, - 1mm)) - do the diameter, area and circumference
of the dishes - do table and graphs
- Evaluation - do a group evaluation
Tissues and cells -

What is a tissue? - A tissue is a group of cells with a similar structure which

perform a. skeletal muscle, for example, is a tissue made up from skeletal muscle
cells.
Epithelial cells - are thin layers of cells - e.g. the inner surface of the gut is lined
with epithelial tissue, which is made up from a layer of epithelial cells (alimentary
canal). They would be found in places that need absorption and other uses for thin
layers of cells - flat lining tissues - around organs, inside blood vessels, lining
small intestine.
Alveolar cells - specialized cells in the lungs (alveoli - AIR SACS)
Blood – water, products of digestion e.g. glucose, amino-acids
Salts e.g. chloride ions, hormones, urea, clotting proteins e.g. fibrinogen
In the plasma are suspended –
Red blood cells – biconcave shape, no nucleus, contains hemoglobin, made in
bone marrow
Platelets – fragments of cells involved in blood clotting (along with around 12
other factors)
White blood cells – larger, less numerous than Red blood cells
Lymphocytes –
Granulocytes – all produce antibodies and engulf bacteria
Monocytes –
Different biological tests (h/w) -
1. Test for Starch
-0
A blue-black coloration indicates the presence of starch.
If the yellow-brown colour of the iodine solution remains, then the test solution
does not contain starch.

2. Test for Reducing Sugar

Add 2cm3 of Benedict's reagent to 2cm3 of the unknown solution and place in an
80ºC water bath for three minutes.
A yellow / red precipitate indicates the presence of a reducing sugar.
If the solution remains blue, no reducing sugar is present.

3. Test for Non-Reducing Sugar

Add 1cm3 of dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl) to 2cm3 of the unknown solution and
boil the solution briefly. Cool the contents, then add 2cm3 of dilute sodium
hydroxide (NaOH) to
neutralise the solution. Take 2cm3 of the solution and mix with 2cm3 of Benedict's
reagent in a clean test tube. Place in an 80°C water bath for three minutes.
A yellow / red precipitate indicates that a non-reducing sugar is present, but this
result will also be obtained if a reducing sugar is present also.
If the solution remains blue then neither a reducing nor a non-reducing sugar is
present.

4. Test for Protein

This is known as the Biuret Test for protein. Add Biuret Reagent A to 2cm3 of the
unknown solution in a test tube until it is in excess - the solution will become
clear. Hold the tube at a 45° angle and using a pipette, trickle in about 1cm3 of
Biuret Reagent B.
If protein is present in the unknown solution, a lilac / purple colour will form in a
ring around the top of the solution, but this can take several minutes.
If protein is not present, the colour of the solution will remain light blue.

5. Test for Lipids, Fats and Oils

Add 2cm3 of your unknown solution to 2cm3 of ethanol in a test tube. Shake very
vigorously using a bung, and then add 2cm3 of cold water.
If lipids are present, a cloudy white suspension will form.
If lipids are not present, the suspension will not be seen.
Surface area to volume ratio –

- A single cell organism requires oxygen and nutrients to remove waste. Exchange
of these materials over its whole surface by diffusion. There is a limit to the size of
an individual cell because of the limiting surface area to volume ratio.

- In multi-cellular organisms – circulatory, ventilation and digestive systems have

evolved to overcome difficulties of supply.
MODULE 2 –
Lactose free practical –
DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid (part 11.3)–
- Double helix in eukaryotes - DNA makes up the chromosomes
- Macromolecule (very large) - holds the genetic information
- made up of nitrogenous bases, A, C, G, T. – stored in nucleus
- is self replicating

Watson and Crick received a Nobel Prize for finding the structure of DNA
From using X-ray crystallography they found out a double helix.
Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine. These all control protein synthesis and are
the 4 nitrogenous bases.
Two Nucleotides (DNA) –

A, T, G, C all join by 2 or 3 hydrogen bonds…. A-T is 2 bonds

G-C is 3 bonds
- Helicase – is the enzyme that makes DNA coil and uncoil in to a double helix
- Human genome research – there are 3,000,000,000 base pairs and they have all
been found.
 – Semi-conservative replication –
in this experiment Watson and Crick used the isotopic or radioactive labeling
method to show that when DNA replicates it semi-conserves the previous DNA
strand that is multiplying. They centrifuge nitrogen so that they can sample a
specific section which is radioactive so that they can identify the daughter strand
later on to prove this theory correct.
The normal mass of nitrogen is 14N.
The radioactive mass of nitrogen is 15N which is ‘heavier’.

DNA replication – copying of DNA occurs at mitosis (interphase) gives cells

with a diploid number of chromosomes

Protein synthesis -
1.Transcription – when the DNA genetic code is transcripted into an RNA genetic
code.
2.Translation – RNA at the ribosome translates the genetic code into a protein.
Recombinant DNA Technology (genetic engineering) –

DNA mRNA  message to cytoplasm  translated into Protein (end products –

Haemoglobin, Enzymes, Hormones, antibodies)

E.g. for Hormones like insulin which lowers blood sugar levels by storing excess as
glycogen.
Isolate either the INSULIN GENE from the human genome or extract mRNA from
the human pancreas. It is easier to reverse the mRNA to DNA using an enzyme
called reverse transcriptase which is a virus grown especially for this process. This
is called reverse transcription because the process is reversed –
mRNA
DNA
 Bacterium plasmid extracted and DNA inserted (uses restriction enzymes,
endonucleases enzyme and DNA Ligase enzymes)
Plasmid replaced into bacterium
Grown in fermenter
 Product (insulin) extracted and purified

Isolation of the gene coding for the protein –

First you have to find the gene you want to extract DNA from and extract it. Next
you cut out the useful gene from the DNA using restriction endonucleases
enzymes. This then leaves a ‘sticky end’ (tail of unpaired bases) at each end of
the useful gene, this stage is called restriction.

- Use of reverse transcriptase, restriction endonulease and Ligase –

Alternatively you can use reverse transcriptase enzymes to create the required
gene from the complementary DNA, made from the mRNA.
mRNA is extracted from donor cells
The mRNA is mixed with free DNA nucleotides and reverse transcription. The
reverse transcriptase uses the mRNA as a template to synthesise a new strand of
complementary DNA
 The complementary DNA can be made double-stranded by mixing it with DNA
nucleotides and polymerase enzymes. Then the useful gene from the
double=stranded DNA is inserted into the plasmid (below) So the bacteria can
make lots of the product of the gene
- Vectors – carriers - are bacteria and viruses like fungi and moulds.
- Antibiotic resistance as genetic markers – this is to test if the antibiotics kill of
the virus.
- Multiplication of the host – this means all the bacteria cells will multiply quickly.
They are put in fertiliser so that they grow quicker in the host body.
- Moral and ethical issues – should we use bacteria to produce things like washing
powder?

Genetically modified crops –

Cauliflower/Broccoli – novel idea taste
Wheat - resistance from pests – shorter stem – fatter grain.
Vegetables/fruit – slow down ripening process  improve colour / texture
GM Maize – more productive / high yield / resistance to pests / herbicide
resistance