What is Biochemistry?
•Biochemistry = chemistry of life.
•Biochemists use physical and
chemical principles to explain
biology at the molecular level.
•Basic principles of biochemistry are
common to all living organism
How does biochemistry
impact you?
•Medicine
•Agriculture
•Industrial applications
•Environmental applications
Principle Areas of
Biochemistry
•Structure and function of biological
macromolecules
•Metabolism – anabolic and catabolic
processes.
•Molecular Genetics – How life is
replicated. Regulation of protein
synthesis
Life Before Biochemistry
Once upon a time, a long long time ago…..
Vitalism: idea that substances and processes
associated with living organisms did not
behave according to the known laws of
physics and chemistry
Evidence:
1)Only living things have a high degree of
complexity
2)Only living things extract, transform and
utilize energy from their environment
3)Only living things are capable of self
assembly and self replication
Origins of Biochemistry:
A challenge to “Vitalism.”
Famous Dead Biochemist!
Fallacy #1: Biochemicals can only be
produced by living organisms
•1828 Friedrich Wohler
•Dead Biochemist #1
Fallacy #2: Complex bioconversion of
chemical substances require living
matter
•1897 Eduard Buchner
Dead Biochemists #2
Glucose + Dead Yeast = Alcohol
•Emil Fischer
Fallacy #2: Complex
bioconversion of chemical
substances require living matter
Dead Biochemists #3
Fallacy #2: Complex
bioconversion of chemical
substances require living matter
Dead Biochemists #4
1926 J.B. Sumner
Findings of other famous dead biochemist
•1944 Avery, MacLeod and McCarty identified
DNA as information molecules
•1953 Watson (still alive) and Crick proposed the
structure of DNA
•1958 Crick proposed the central dogma of
biology
Organization of Life
•elements
•simple organic compounds (monomers)
•macromolecules (polymers)
•supramolecular structures
•organelles
•cells
•tissues
•organisms
Range of the
sizes of objects
studies by
Biochemist and
Biologist
1 angstrom = 0.1 nm
Most abundant, essential for all organisms: C, N, O, P, S, H
Less abundant, essential for all organisms : Na, Mg, K, Ca, Cl
Trace levels, essential for all organism: Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn
Trace levels, essential for some organisms: V, Cr, Mo, B, Al, Ga, Sn, Si,
As, Se, I,
Elements of Life
Important compounds, functional groups
Many Important Biomolecules are Polymers
p r o t e i n c o m p l e x
p r o t e i n s u b u n i t
a m i n o a c i d
m e m b r a n e
p h o s p h o l i p i d
f a t t y a c i d
c e ll w a ll
c e llu lo s e
g lu c o s e
c h r o m o s o m e
D N A
n u c l e o t i d emonomer
polymer
supramolecular
structure
lipids proteins carbonucleic acids
Lipids
m e m b r a n e
p h o s p h o l i p i d
f a t t y a c i d
monomer
polymer
supramolecular
structure