2.01:_Organic_Molecules

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<span id="Functional_groups"></span><span id="Functional_groups"></span><h2 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Functional groups</h2>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">The various functional groups include:</p>

<ul>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">hydroxyl group (-OH)</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">carboxyl group [-COOH]</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">carbonyl group (-C=O)</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">amino group -NH<sub><font size="2">2</font></sub></li>
</ul>

<span id="Organic_Molecules"></span><span id="Organic_Molecules"></span><h2 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Organic Molecules</h2>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Various organic molecules formed by these groups are as follows:</p>

<span id="Alcohols"></span><span id="Alcohols"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Alcohols</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;"><img class="internal right" style="width: 299px; height: 754px; float: right;" alt="Chemical structure diagram showing functional groups: Alcohol, Carboxylic acid, Aldehyde, Ether, Ester, Amine, Amide. Key elements are labeled in red, with names in blue." loading="lazy" width="299" height="754" src="https://bio.libretexts.org/@api/deki/files/5116/organics.png?revision=1&amp;size=bestfit&amp;width=299&amp;height=754" />Organic molecules with a <strong>hydroxyl group</strong> (-OH).</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Methanol [CH<sub><font size="2">3</font></sub>OH] and ethanol (beverage alcohol)[CH<sub><font size="2">3</font></sub>CH<sub><font size="2">2</font></sub>OH] are common examples.</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Sugars are also alcohols.</p>

<span id="Carboxylic_Acids"></span><span id="Carboxylic_Acids"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Carboxylic Acids</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Contain one or more <strong>carboxyl groups</strong> [-COOH].</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Many of the intermediates in the breakdown of foodstuffs by cellular respiration are carboxylic acids.</p>

<span id="Aldehydes"></span><span id="Aldehydes"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Aldehydes</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Contain a carbon atom to which is attached one hydrogen atom and &mdash; by a double bond &mdash; one oxygen atom.</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Formaldehyde [HCHO] is a powerful disinfectant and preservative (it denatures proteins).</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Acetaldehyde is produced during the conversion of pyruvic acid to ethanol when yeast ferment sugars. The converse is also true &mdash; acetaldehyde is produced in the liver as it metabolizes ingested ethanol (and may be the prime culprit in a &quot;hangover&quot;).</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Phosphoglyceraldehyde is an intermediate in glycolysis and the &quot;dark reaction&quot; of photosynthesis</p>

<span id="Ethers"></span><span id="Ethers"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Ethers</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Formed when two carbon atoms are linked by an oxygen atom.</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Diethyl ether is a commonly-used anesthetic.</p>

<span id="Esters"></span><span id="Esters"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Esters</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">The removal of a molecule of water between the -OH group of an alcohol and the -OH group of a</p>

<ul>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">carboxylic acid (-COOH) [shown in the diagram] or</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">phosphoric acid</li>
</ul>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">produces an ester.</p>

<ul>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Fats are triesters of three fatty acids and glycerol (the alcohol).</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Phospholipids are also esters.</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;"><strong>Nucleotides</strong> are esters of nucleosides and phosphoric acid.</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">The nucleotides of DNA and RNA are linked by a double ester linkage called a <strong>phosphodiester</strong> bond.</li>
</ul>

<span id="Ketones"></span><span id="Ketones"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Ketones</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Organic molecules with a <strong>carbonyl group</strong> (-C=O) between two hydrocarbon portions.</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Ketones are synthesized in the liver, usually from fatty acids.</p>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">When glucose metabolism is suppressed, during starvation or in diabetics, fatty acids are used as a source of energy. But instead of entering the citric acid cycle, the <strong>acetyl-CoA</strong> produced from them is converted into the ketone acetoacetate. Some of this is then converted into <strong>acetone</strong> (which can be smelled on the breath of patients whose diabetes is out of control).</p>

<span id="Amines"></span><span id="Amines"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Amines</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Organic molecules with an <strong>amino group</strong>, -NH<sub><font size="2">2</font></sub>. Some examples:</p>

<ul>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">all the amino acids (lysine has two of them).</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T<sub><font size="2">4</font></sub>) and triiodothyronine (T<sub><font size="2">3</font></sub>)</li>
    <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Many neurotransmitters:
    <ul>
        <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">adrenaline and noradrenaline</li>
        <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">dopamine</li>
        <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine)</li>
        <li class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">histamine</li>
    </ul>
    </li>
</ul>

<span id="Amides"></span><span id="Amides"></span><h3 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Amides</h3>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;">Amides are organic molecules containing a carbonyl group (-C=O) attached to a nitrogen atom. The <strong>peptide bond</strong> between the amino acids linked in a polypeptide is also called an <strong>amide bond</strong>.</p>

<span id="Contributors_and_Attributions"></span><span id="Contributors_and_Attributions"></span><h2 style="background-color: unset;" class="lt-bio-3779">Contributors and Attributions</h2>

<p class="lt-bio-3779" style="background-color: unset;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a title="http://www.biology-pages.info/" href="http://www.biology-pages.info/" target="_blank" rel="external noopener nofollow" class="external">John W. Kimball</a>. This content is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license and made possible by funding from <a title="http://www.saylor.org" href="http://www.saylor.org" target="_blank" rel="external noopener nofollow" class="external">The Saylor Foundation.</a></p>
<p></p>

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<hr class="autoattribution-divider" /><div class="autoattribution"><p>This page titled <a target="_blank" class="internal mt-self-link" href="/Sandboxes/johnnyphung/biology/02:_The_Molecules_of_Life/2.01:_Organic_Molecules">2.1: Organic Molecules</a> is shared under a <a rel="nofollow" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0" target="_blank">CC BY  3.0</a>  license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.biology-pages.info/">John W. Kimball</a> via <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.biology-pages.info/" target="_blank">source content</a> that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.</p></div>

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