Free Essay About Macromolecules

Macromolecules, as the name suggests, are very large molecules (macro means large or big) that are essential to all living organisms. There are four known major types of macromolecules, namely carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acid, and lipids (D’Onofrio, 2015). Monomers, which are joined into a head-to-tail fashion during polymerization, are the small subunits that make-up macromolecules (Baggott & Dennis, 1995).
The most abundant macromolecules are the saccharides, which is better known as carbohydrates. Saccharides are the source of energy of the living organisms, and are mostly made up of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen (Austin Community College District). The resulting polymers of carbohydrates, which also follow the same head-to-tail fashion, vary in sizes. There are three types – monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides (D’Onofrio, 2015). Glucose is the most common saccharide, and it is classified under the monosaccharide group since it is referred to as single or simple sugar. Monosaccharides are also found to be interlinked with other macromolecules. They get transported in the animals’ blood and broken down in order to produce chemical energy (D’Onofrio, 2015). Other examples of monosaccharides are fructose and galactose, both of which are isomers of glucose. On the other hand, disaccharides, as the name implies, contain two single sugar monomers linked together. Examples of which are sucrose, which is consisted of glucose and fructose, and maltose, which is consisted of two glucoses.
The third group of saccharides are the polysaccharides, which are collective chains of monomers of sugar linked together. The relevance of polysaccharides lies to the fact that hibernating animals store energy as polysaccharides. For animals, the polysaccharide mostly responsible for energy storage is glycogen that is found in the liver, which is responsible for keeping the amount of glucose in blood circulation. For plants, the polysaccharide is in the form of starch, which is stored until it is needed for the growth in spring. For the structural polysaccharides, animals and fungi rely on chitin while plants rely on cellulose (D’Onofrio, 2015).
As mentioned before, the role of carbohydrates primarily is to produce energy when consumed by the body whenever necessary. Moreover, carbohydrates are essential because it is necessary in the production of other nutrients such as glucose, vitamins and minerals. Needless to say, deficiency of carbohydrates in the body implies major impairment of physical and psychological activities. Furthermore, carbohydrates are also involved with waste management and elimination of the body (McKinley Health Center, 2014). Carbohydrates are also associated with the components of DNA, RNA, and ATP (The Royal Society of Chemistry, n.d.).
In general terms, carbohydrates are composed of simple sugar monomers. Monosaccharides are linked by removing water to create a covalent bond in order to produce polysaccharides. C1 of a glucose molecule and the C4 of a second glucose are observed to behave like such (Austin Community College District, n.d.). For instance, a glucose molecule is consisted of two functional groups – a carbonyl group and a hydroxyl group (Baggott & Dennis, 1995). It has the general molecular formula of C6H12O6. The solubility of glucose in water and its generally small size are responsible for its ability to pass through the cell membrane, hence, into the cell itself. Starch make the “α” orientation because the glucose molecules C1 to C4 are connected while the C6 is sticking up. Cellulose, on the other hand, form the “ß” orientation by the chains of glucose molecules it possesses (Austin Community College District, n.d.).

References

Austin Community College District. (nd). “Module 2: Macromolecules.” Austin Community College. Web. 18 March 2015. Retrieved from http://www.austincc.edu/biology/assessment/pdf/Module2_Macromolecules.pdf
Baggott, J. & Dennis, S. (1995). “Macromolecules.” NetBiochem. Web. 18 March 2015. Retrieved from http://library.med.utah.edu/NetBiochem/macromol.htm
D’Onofrio, A. (2015). “Macromolecules of Life.” Biology 101. Web. 18 March 2015. Retrieved from http://www.biology101.org/biologystudyguides/buildingblocksoflife.php
McKinley Health Center. (2014). “Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat.” The Board of Trustees, University of Illinois. Web. 18 March 2015. Retrieved from http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/handouts/macronutrients.htm
The Royal Society of Chemistry. (nd). “Carbohydrates.” RSC. Web. 18 March 2015. Retrieved from http://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/carbohydrates.htm