Pain-Free Biochemistry: An Essential Guide for the Health Sciences Book

Preface x

Section 1 Foundations 1

Topic 1 Why biochemistry? 3

Topic 2 Remarkableness of life 9

Chemistry I The basic structure of substances: atoms, molecules, elements and compounds 13

Chemistry II Atomic structure, valency and bonding 16

Chemistry III Protons, acids, bases, concentration and the pH scale 25

Topic 3 Shape, molecular recognition and proteins: an example 32

Topic 4 Proteins: molecular necklaces 38

Topic 5 Chemical transformations in the living organism: metabolism 43

Topic 6 Reactions, catalysts and enzymes 46

Topic 7 Specificity, saturation and active sites 49

Topic 8 Structure of metabolism: anabolism and catabolism 54

Chemistry IV Equilibrium 56

Topic 9 Catabolism: degradation vs energy metabolism 60

Chemistry V Oxidation and reduction 63

Topic 10 Oxidation and reduction in metabolism 67

Section 2 Catabolism 71

Chemistry VI Aldehydes, ketones and sugars 73

Topic 11 Carbohydrates: sugars and polysaccharides in metabolism 81

Topic 12 Glucose inside the body 85

Topic 13 Breakdown of sugar: glycolysis 88

Topic 14 Aerobic oxidation of pyruvate: Krebs cycle 94

Topic 15 Respiratory chain, oxidative phosphorylation and overall ATP yields 98

Topic 16 Mobilising the carbohydrate store: glycogenolysis 103

Chemistry VII Alcohols, esters, glycerol, fatty acids and triglycerides 106

Chemistry VIII Hydrophobic, hydrophilic and amphiphilic 109

Topic 17 Phospholipids and membranes 111

Chemistry IX Saturated and unsaturated 114

Topic 18 Fats as an energy source 119

Topic 19 Fats: digestion, transport, storage and mobilisation 122

Topic 20 Fats: oxidation of fatty acids126

Topic 21 Ketone bodies in health and disease 133

Topic 22 Dietary fat: essential fatty acids 137

Topic 23 Protein and amino acid breakdown 140

Topic 24 Shedding excess amino groups: urea cycle 147

Section 3 Anabolism and Control 151

Topic 25 Is anabolism just catabolism backwards? 153

Topic 26 Making new glucose: gluconeogenesis 156

Topic 27 Fatty acid biosynthesis 161

Topic 28 Providing reducing power: NADPH and the pentose phosphate pathway 164

Chemistry XI Isotopes 168

Topic 29 Red cells and white cells: defence against reactive oxygen and reactive oxygen as defence! 172

Topic 30 The need for metabolic control 176

Topic 31 Relationship of fats and carbohydrates: use by different tissues 179

Sextion 4 Genes and Protein Synthesis 181

Topic 32 The idea of genes 183

Topic 33 The chemistry of genes: DNA and the double helix 186

Topic 34 The genetic code and mRNA 190

Topic 35 Protein synthesis, ribosomes and tRNA 193

Topic 36 Genetic differences and disease 197

Topic 37 Genetic variability: drug metabolism and disease susceptibility 203

Topic 38 Mutation, radiation and ageing 205

Topic 39 Switching genes on and off: development, tissue specificity, adaptation and tolerance 207

Topic 40 DNA and protein synthesis as targets: chemotherapy, antibiotics, etc. 210

Section 5 Physiological Systems and Clinical Issues 217

Topic 41 Hormones and second messengers 219

Topic 42 Switching enzymes on and off: coarse and fine control 222

Topic 43 Insulin, glucagon and adrenaline 224

Topic 44 Diabetes 229

Topic 45 Steroid hormones and receptors: fertility control, pregnancy testing, etc. 233

Topic 46 Pituitary hormones and feedback loops 238

Topic 47 Thyroid hormones 240

Topic 48 Adrenal cortex 244

Topic 49 Prostaglandins and inflammation: aspirin 246

Topic 50 Membrane transport 250

Topic 51 Nerve and muscle 255

Topic 52 pH homeostasis 258

Topic 53 Diagnostic markers: biochemical tests 261

Topic 54 Blood, bleeding and clotting 265

Section 6 Appendices 271

Appendix 1 pH and neutrality 273

Appendix 2 Crystallography 274

Appendix 3 Protein forces, secondary structure and folding 277

Appendix 4 Equilibrium constant 281

Appendix 5 Phosphorus, phosphoric acid and phosphate esters 283

Appendix 6 Coenzymes, cofactors and prosthetic groups 285

Appendix 7 Coenzyme A 287

Appendix 8 Krebs cycle and evidence for a catalytic reaction sequence 289

Appendix 9 Knoop's experiment pointing to β-oxidation of fatty acids 291

Appendix 10 Isoenzymes 293

Appendix 11 Genetic code 295

Appendix 12 Different kinds of mutation 297

Appendix 13 Restriction enzymes 299

Appendix 14 Enzyme inhibition 301

Appendix 15 Electrophoresis to separate proteins 304

Appendix 16 Chromatography and mass spectrometry to separate and identify metabolites 308

Glossary 313

MCQ answers 322

Index 323