METABOLIC REACTIONS

 Cells perform many functions which require energy

Types of Cellular Work

 Mechanical - beating of cilia, muscle contractions, etc.
 Transport - pumping of molecules and ions across a plasma
membrane against their concentration gradient, etc.
 Chemical - pushing endergonic reactions that would not occur
spontaneously

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

 Adenine, ribose + 3 phosphate groups
 Used for temporary energy storage

 Enzymes hydrolyze ATP to form adenosine diphosphate (ADP),

inorganic phosphate (Pi) and free energy (more stable products)
ATP + H2O  ADP + Pi ΔG = -57 kJ/mol (in cellular conditions)

 The free energy is usually coupled with an endergonic reaction

 A single working muscle cell uses ~ 10 million ATP’s per second
 ATP is constantly regenerated by phosphorylation of ADP with the
free energy generated by cellular respiration
Recall:

Redox Reactions
 Chemical reactions involving the transfer of one or more electrons
from one atom to another

Oxidation: The process of losing electrons

Oxidizing agent: The substance that takes the electrons

Reduction: The process of gaining electrons

Reducing agent: The substance that provides the electrons

O I L R I G or L E O says G E R

E.g. NaCl
+ –

Na Cl Na Cl

Reducing agent Oxidizing agent

(gets oxidized) (gets reduced)

 Always coupled
 Oxygen is very electronegative (attracts electrons strongly) and is
thus a potent oxidizing agent

 Redox reactions can occur in a series where the product of one

reaction becomes the reactant of the next in the series
 When many reactions occur in succession the electrons are passed
through a series of increasingly stronger electron carriers
 i.e. electron transport chains in photosynthesis and cellular respiration
A– B C– D

A B– C D–
Reversibility of Metabolic Reactions
 All metabolic reactions are enzyme catalyzed and are reversible
 In order to keep the reactions moving forward living systems are
kept at disequilibrium (i.e. products must not be allowed to
accumulate or rxn will reach equilibrium  )
 The products of one reaction are often used as reactants in another
reaction and the final product is either removed from the cell or
precipitated out of solution as a solid
o CO2 is expelled from the cell following cellular respiration
o glucose is polymerized into insoluble starch granules in
plants following photosynthesis