Biological Macromolecules

Biological Macromolecules are the cellular components which perform various functions which are necessary for growth and survival of living organisms the biological macromolecules plays major role in cell function and structure. Some biological molecules are monomers, that is having single molecule and some are polymer that is having strings of monomers. Generally all the monomers in the polymer tend to be same or very similar to each other which is linked to each other building up large macromolecule. These monomers are linked together to form larger macromolecules and different combinations produce the complex biological polymers. There are basic four types of biological macromolecules are carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nuclei acids. Living organisms use carbohydrates, proteins and lipids for energy. Nuclei acid is the one biological molecule which is not used for energy. The nuclei acids carry genetic material which is the overall name for DNA, and RNA. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made of three components, a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base.  

The four types of Biological Macromolecules are:

Carbohydrates:

All sugar belongs to the group of biological macromolecules known as carbohydrates. Carbohydrates molecules contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The combination of these three elements forms a sugar molecule. The nature of a carbohydrate depends on the number of sugar molecule. The nature of carbohydrates depends upon the number of sugar molecules bonded together and the orientation of the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atom. Humans use carbohydrates, as the first source of energy. When you consume excess carbohydrates, the liver converts some into fats and stores a portion as the long chain sugar molecule glycogen. The human body does not use any other source of energy until glycogen reserve run out. Glucose energy is stored as glycogen, with the majority of it in the muscles and liver.

Lipids

Do not underestimate the power of fat because organisms need it to thrive. Biological macromolecules called lipids are in two forms, triglycerides and phospholipids. Triglyceride, also known as fat, acts as an energy storage medium for the human body. Fat plays an important role in vitamin absorption, blood clotting, and regulation of inflammation and brain development. After energy from carbohydrates runs low, your body burns fat as a secondary energy source. Phospholipids make up your cell membrane and prevent unwanted items from entering the cell.  The phospholipids and triglyceride contain glycerol and fatty acids chains. Fat molecules differ from phospholipids in that fats do not contain a phosphate group. The lipid performs several biological functions: lipids acts as storage compounds, triglycerides serve as reserve energy of the body, lipids are important component of cell membranes structure in eukaryotic cells, lipids regulate membrane permeability and they serve as source for fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E, K.

Proteins

Proteins are the biological macromolecules formed by amino acids. Proteins are larger molecules, polymers of structural units called amino acids. In total there are 20 different amino acids exist in protein and thousands of these amino acids exists in proteins and thousands of these amino acids are attached to each other in long chains to from a protein. The human body is able to produce 100,000 different proteins, the proteins are the building blocks of small molecules called amino acids bind together to form the biological macromolecules proteins. Proteins are the main source of enzymes, muscles, blood cells and hair. If there is more consumption of protein then the protein needs to be converted into fat. Humans use proteins as energy reservoir. The proteins helps in hormone production.

Nucleic Acid

Nuclei acids are the important aspect of life as it carries genetic material of human life. These are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomers made up of three components:  a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base Nuclei acids are formed into two forms: deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA and ribonucleic acid or RNA. DNA is the key to genetic code and act as a blue print. RNA reads the blue print found in DNA and also produces proteins which are based on the genetic code. If the sugar is a compound ribose, the polymeric RNA (ribonucleic acid); if the sugar is derived from ribose as deoxyribose, the polymer is DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Their main function is to transmit and express that information inside and outside the cell nucleus and also process interior operations of the cell and ultimately to the next generation of all the living organisms.