Study Unit 2:
Chemical Principles
Dr Gumede
[email protected]
Chemical Principles
• Atom
➢ Smallest unit of element
➢ Composed of: protons, neutrons and electrons
➢ Protons (positive charge)
➢ Neutrons (no charge)
➢ Electron (negative charge) → orbit nucleus, lighter
Chemical principles
• Atomic number
➢ Number of protons in nucleus
• Element
➢ Substance composed of one type atom/particle
➢ Copper, oxygen, iron
• Molecule
➢ 2 or more atoms combined by chemical bond
The element of life
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/periodic-table/
Charged Particles
• Ions – charged particle
• Cation (Na+)
➢ Positively charged
➢ Lost electron
• Anion (CI-)
➢ Negatively charged
➢ Gained electron
Ionic Bonds
• Sodium and chloride ions
➢ Attracted to their opposite charges
➢ Held together by ionic bond to form sodium chloride
Covalent Bonds
• Form when two atoms share one or more pairs of electron
pH
• Acidity or hydrogen ion (H+) concentration
• pH < 7 = acidic
• pH > 7 = basic/alkaline
• Acids – dissociate to produce H+
➢ HCl → H+ + Cl-
➢ React with bases to form salts
➢ Strong acids: produce more hydrogen ions (Hydrochloric acid)
➢ Weak acids: produce few hydrogen ions (Carbonic acid)
• Bases – dissociate to produce OH-
➢ NaOH → Na+ + OH-
➢ OH- + H+ → H2O
➢ Strong bases: dissociates completely in solution (Sodium
hydroxide)
➢ Weak bases: do not dissociate completely in solution (Ammonia)
pH
Buffer
• Buffer solution maintains the pH by neutralizing
small amounts of added acid or base
• Prevents fluctuations in pH
• Body pH = 7,4: any change affects metabolic
processes
• In the body, absorbs H30+= or OH- from foods
and cellular processes
Chemical composition of body
Water H2O
• 2 hydrogen atoms bonded with 1 oxygen atom
• Inorganic, Polar molecule
• 60% of body mass
• Transport medium
• Component of chemical reactions
• Maintains cellular concentrations of substances
• Regulates body temperature
• Excretion of waste
Water Balance in Body
• Water intake and loss fluctuates
➢ Physical activity and environmental temperature
• Sudden loss or gain in body mass
➢ Change in water content of the body
Overhydration
• Excessive intake of water
• Misjudged excessive therapeutic administration of fluid
• Moderate overhydration – increased urine volume
• Large excess – disruption of cell functions
Dehydration
Lack of water
• Excessive loss through:
➢ Skin (sweating)
➢ Digestive tract (vomiting and diarrhoea)
➢ Kidney (kidney lesion – albuminurea)
• Reduced intake of water
➢ No water available
Dehydration
• Signs:
➢ Sudden drop in body mass
➢ Thirst
➢ Drop in blood volume and pressure
➢ Increase in pulse rate
➢ Dry mouth
➢ Speech impaired
➢ Rise in temperature Severe and prolonged dehydration
➢ Confusion
➢ Coma
PART 2
Chemical Principles
• Organic compound
➢ Contains carbon in base structure
➢ Derived from living organisms
• Inorganic compound
➢ Do not contain carbon
➢ Not derived from living organism
Organic compounds
• Containing carbon
• Carbohydrates
➢ Energy suppliers
➢ Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
• Lipids
➢ Insoluble in water
➢ Triglycerides
➢ Phospholipids
➢ Steroids
Organic compounds conc
• Proteins
➢ Amino acids – carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen (sulphur or phosphorus)
➢ Amino group (-NH2) and carboxylic group (-COOH)
➢ Enzymes (-ase)
• Nucleic acid and nucleotides
➢ N containing base, 5-Carbon sugar, Phosphate group
➢ DNA, RNA, ATP
Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrates form carbon rings (5 or 6 carbons)
➢ Monosaccharides (single carbohydrates)
➢ Disaccharides (consist of two monosaccharides)
➢ Complex carbohydrates/ Polysaccharides (consists of many
monosaccharides)
Monosaccharides (simple sugars)
• Major function in energy production
• Structural such as in DNA or RNA
• Most common: glucose, fructose, and galactose.
• Classified according to the number of carbon atoms.
➢ Triose three carbons; a tetrose has four carbons; a pentose has five carbons;
and a hexose has six carbons.
Disaccharides (double bonds)
• A disaccharide consists of two monosaccharides.
Disaccharide Monosaccharides
• Maltose + H2O Glucose + Glucose
• Lactose + H2O Glucose + Galactose
• Sucrose + H2O Glucose + Fructose
Complex carbohydrates
• Polysaccharides
• Starch (plants cells)
• Glycogen (animal cells)
• High density energy storage
• Can form single strands or branch
Lipids
• Forms all membranes in the cell – glycerol gets extra groups attached
• Consist of C, H, and O
• Are nonpolar and insoluble in water
• Triglycerides (neutral fats)
➢ Contain glycerol and fatty acid
➢ Saturated fat: no double bonds
➢ Unsaturated fat : one or more double bonds in the fatty acids
➢ cis: H atoms on the same side of the double bond
➢ trans: H atoms on the opposite side of the double bond
Phospholipids
• Similar to triglycerides
• Two fatty acids attached to glycerol
• Abundant in cell membranes
Steriods
• Complex ring structure
• 4 carbon rings with an –OH group attached to one ring
• Part of membranes
• Cholesterol – precursor for vitamin D and steroid hormones
• Vitamin D – calcium absorption
• Male and female sex hormones
• Bile acids – fat absorption
Proteins
• Long polymers made up of amino acids
• Are essential in cell structure and function
• Enzymes are proteins that speed chemical reactions
• Transporter proteins move chemicals across membranes
Proteins
• 21 amino acids make up all proteins
• Attached in strings called polypeptides
Protein structure
Nucleic acids
• Consist of nucleotides
• Nucleotide
➢ Composed of N-containing base (purine or pyrimidine), a
pentose sugar, and a phosphate group
• Nucleotide structure
➢ Five nitrogen bases namely adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine
(C), thymine (T), and uracil (U)
➢ Two major classes – DNA and RNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
• Double Helix
• Made up of molecules called nucleotides
• Found in cell nucleus and mitochondria (mtDNA)
• Three parts: a 5-carbon sugar called deoxyribose,
• a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base
• Four kinds of nitrogenous bases
➢ adenine (A) and thymine (T) pair together
➢ cytosine (C) and guanine (G) pair together
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)
• Single-stranded molecule found in both the nucleus and the
cytoplasm of a cell
• Three varieties of RNA: messenger RNA, transfer RNA, and
ribosomal RNA
TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING
1. Proteins
A. are always soluble.
B. are always folded in a quaternary structure.
C. are made up of amino acids.
D. can always be present in the membrane.
2. Maltose is the combination of:
A. Glucose + fructose
B. Glucose + glucose
C. Galactose + glucose
D. Galactose + galactose
3. pH is an expression of acidity or the concentration of
A. hydrogen ions.
B. hydroxyl ions.
C. ionic bonds.
D. covalent bonds.
4. A substance which is composed out of only one type of particle is a:
A. Atom
B. Molecule
C. Element.
D. Cation
5. An atom does NOT consist of __________.
A. Neutrons
B. Protons
C. Electrons
D. Molecules
6. A disaccharide of one fructose and one glucose molecule is called:
A. Sucrose
B. Lactose
C. Galactose
D. Maltose
