Biochemistry Lecture Notes & Labs

Find out what elements are in the human body and what these elements do.

Carbohydrates or saccharides are the most abundant class of biomolecules. Carbohydrates are used to store energy, though they serve other important functions as well. This is an overview of carbohydrate chemistry, including a look at the types of carbohydrates, their functions, and carbohydrate classification.

Lipids are class of naturally-occurring organic compounds that you may know by their common names: fats and oils. Here's a look at the function, structure, and physical properties of lipids.

If you're taking general chemistry, organic, or biochemistry, you'll need to understand some basic concepts about nucleic acids, the polymers used to code the genetic information of organisms. Here are some quick nucleic acid facts to get you started.

The citric acid cycle, also known as the Krebs cycle or tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, is a series of chemical reactions in the cell that breaks down food molecules into carbon dioxide, water, and energy.

Glycolysis is the name given to the series of biochemical reactions in which glucose is converted into pyruvate. This important part of carbohydrate catabolism takes place in the cytoplasm of cells. Several reactions take place, with products that are vital to the functioning of the cell.

Monomers are the building blocks of more complex molecules, called polymers. Polymers consist of repeating molecular units which usually are joined by covalent bonds. Here is a closer look at the chemistry of monomers and polymers.

This article describes the four levels of protein and polypeptide structure, with examples and links for additional reading.

These are the chemical structures of the purines, pyrimidines, nucleosides, and nucleotides.

Photosynthesis is the name for the set of chemical reactions used by plants and other organisms to make food from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. Here's a look at the process and study questions to help make sure you understand the key concepts.

This is a generalized diagram of the chemical reactions necessary for photosynthesis.

Do you need some examples of polymers? Here is a list of materials that are polymers, plus some examples of materials that are not polymers.

Learn about the process of translation, in which the genetic code of mRNA is used to produce amino acids that will ultimately become proteins.

This is an introduction to stereoisomerism of amino acids, with Fisher projections and stereorepre0entations of serine used as an example. There are links to learn more about amino acids and about chirality of other molecules.

These are the structures for the twenty natural amino acids, plus the general structure for an amino acid.

Learn what anabolic steroids are, how they can enhance athletic performance, and what risks are associated with using performance enhancing drugs.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are added to many foods to prevent fat spoilage. This article describes what BHA and BHT are, what they do, and how they do it. There is a fairly lengthy list of references because there is controversy over the health effects of BHA, BHT, and other additives.

Lycopene is the red pigment in tomatoes and several fruits. Find out more about how this antioxidant protects against cancer and heart disease.

As the price of diesel continues to climb, you may wish to consider making your own diesel from cooking oil, called biodiesel. It's easy and could save you money.

Learn about the chemical and biological properties of caffeine, the methylxanthine stimulant found in coffee and other foods.

It's important to drink plenty of fluids, but can you overdo it? Learn the truth about water intoxication and hyponatremia.

Carbon is an element that is essential for life. The carbon cycle describes the storage and exchange of carbon between the Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.

Learn some interesting facts about carbon, the element that is the basis for organic chemistry.

Find out why everyone wants to take a nap after Thanksgiving Day turkey dinner. Let's talk turkey and learn about L-tryptophan and carbohydrate metabolism.

This is a table listing many of the pharmaceuticals that are derived from plants, including the names of the drugs, their actions, plant sources, and the common names of the plants.

Fermentation is a process used to produce wine, beer, yogurt and other products. Here's a look at the chemical process that occurs during fermentation.

Do you know about the chemistry of food? Test your knowledge with this fun and quick ten-question multiple choice quiz.

Over 75% of women and a growing percentage of men color their hair. Learn about natural haircolor and find out what happens when you bleach hair or use temporary or permanent haircolor.

Sweaty palms and a pounding heart don't just happen! It takes complex biochemistry to give you the symptoms of being in love. And lust. And security. Chemistry may even play a role in falling out-of-love. Get some of the details here, with links for further study.

You can use the luminol chemiluminescence reaction as a quick and easy forensic test for blood. Here's a look at what you need to perform the test, how to do it, and an explanation of how the luminol test works.

Learn about the processes involved in the nitrogen cycle, the biochemical cycle that describes the transformations of nitrogen as it goes through nature.

See the effect of hypertonic, isotonic and hypotonic osmotic pressure on red blood cells.

Learn about ricin and RCA, the two potent toxins from the castor bean plant. Information is provided about the action, symptoms, and treatment of ricin and RCA poisoning.

Your stomach produces hydrochloric acid, so you would expect it to be acidic. Do you know just how low your stomach pH gets or whether the pH is constant? Here's a look at the chemistry of stomach pH.

Tattoo inks aren't regulated by the US FDA, so what you don't know can hurt you. This 3-part article examines the pigments, carriers, and other chemistry-related issues concerning tattoo inks and their toxicity. Instructions for making your own tattoo ink are provided.

The primary methylxanthine in chocolate is theobromine, a molecule similar to caffeine. See the structure of theobromine and read about its chemistry, effects on people and animals, and uses. There are links to chocolate history and chemical research, veterinary advice for theobromine poisoning, and related resources.

Urine is a liquid produced by the kidneys to remove waste products from the bloodstream. Human urine is yellowish in color and variable in chemical composition, but here is a list of its principal components.

Do you know the chemical composition of the human body? Here's the list of elements, given in percentage according to weight.

Dead bodies are sometimes referred to as 'stiffs' for a reason! Learn what rigor mortis is and find out why it happens.

Saturated fats are important in diet and nutrition as well as chemistry. Here's an explanation of what a saturated fat is.

Do you know how many liters of blood are in your body? How about what's in your blood? Let's learn about the chemistry of human blood.

Do you know the answer? It's a matter of chemistry as much as biology. I've included other factoids about eye color, including some that may surprise you.

A new study conducted by the CDC indicates that getting the flu vaccine doesn't protect you against cold, flu-like illness, or even the flu. Surprised? Here are some reasons why the vaccine may not work.

Molecular biology clip art from Genentech – a leader in the biotech field.

Background information pertains to enzyme reactions. From Worthington Biochemical Corporation.

Insights and apparatus for advanced undergraduate labs.

These are some of the laboratory exercises used by Barry Ganong. He also provides a brief review of some published biochemistry laboratory manuals.

Topics include atomic bonding and enzymology. From Brooklyn College, City University of New York.

This is San Diego Supercomputer Center's web-based tool for searching protein and nucleic acid sequence databases. Database searching is integrated with analysis and modeling tools to eliminate file format compatibility problems.

NMR data on nucleic acids, peptides, and proteins. From the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

These are labeled diagrams which summarize processes of importance to biotechnology. The list of processes is quite comprehensive.

Explore protein Class, Architecture, Topology and Homologous superfamily. From University College London.

Tutorials and databases of macromolecular structure and dynamics. From US National Institutes of Health.

Alternatives to using hydrogen fluoride in the Merrifield synthesis of peptides. From John L. Hughes and Eric J. Leopold.

Molecular motions: view them or create your own. From Mark Gerstein, Yale University.

Proteomics gateway to protein and enzyme databases, homology searches, and structural predictions. From the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

2-D and 3-D models of the amino acids.

Lecture slides with brief summations.

Click on a chromosome to find its associated genes and DNA sequences. From the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Protein and nucleic acid components, structures, and their conformations. Also, search for PDB protein and nucleic acid entries. From Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie, Jena, Germany.

Well-characterized experiments from Mansfield University.

This site was prepared by Worthington Biochemical Corporation as a practical introduction to enzymology. References are provided.

Search for biological compounds, enzymes, metabolic pathways, and chromosomes. From Kyoto University.

Study biological molecules in a question and answer format. From the University of Arizona.

Very complete and impressive online text provided by Indiana University School of Medicine.

Quizzes with answers from the University of Arizona.

AVI files showing animations of macromolecules such as hemoglobin, DNA-binding proteins, and a variety of enzymes. From the University of Leeds.

Structures of protein molecules. From Robert M. Hanson, St. Olaf College.

A complete downloadable course containing text, graphics, and animation for medical biochemistry instructors.

Visualization of structures requires Chime plug-in. From California Lutheran University.

Appealing experiments from Mansfield University.

After studying, go to Problem Set 2. From the University of Arizona.

Requires paid subscription. Some free course work available. From Birkbeck College, University of London.

Search for recurrent structural motifs in your protein of interest. From University College London.

Protein mass spectrometry analysis site. Includes chemical properties of amino acids and peptides, and ability to search protein databases. From Rockefeller University.

Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics archives protein structure data generated from X-ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance.

Discerning evolutionary relationships of protein by similarities in their structures. From Cambridge University.

Browses protein and nucleotide databases available at EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.

Recommended definitions, terms, and symbols used in biochemical reactions. From the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry.

Slides and syllabi used in undergraduate and graduate level chemistry courses. Topics include biochemistry, analytical, general, and organic chemistry. From University of Akron.

The amino acids are important biochemical molecules. Learn about the characteristics and structures of the amino acids. Get the three letter abbreviations for the amino acids and see how they are characterized according to their polarity and side chains.