What is protein in chemistry? The formula of this nitrogen-containing high-molecular organic substance is complex, it is a complex polymer of amino acids.
What are the main properties of proteins? The chemistry of this class of compounds is important, since proteins are part of living organisms: muscles, internal organs, integumentary tissues, blood, cartilage.
Quick reference
Protein molecules (and their components - amino acids) are synthesized from water and carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, as well as due to the absorption of other protein elements: phosphorus, nitrogen, iron, magnesium, sulfur from s alts that are found in dissolved form in the soil.
Animal organisms mostly receive ready-made amino acids from food, from which a protein specific to each particular organism is further built. Some amino acids (non-essential) can be synthesized by animal organisms themselves.
Building features
The use of proteins is based on properties. Chemistry of this classorganic compounds due to the presence of amide (peptide) bonds in them.
The use of proteins is associated with their main functions, in particular, enzymatic catalysts that regulate the speed and direction of chemical reactions in the body.
Medical use
Interest is the use of proteins in the form of food therapeutic supplements and medicinal substances. In practice, protein hydrolysates are in demand. As part of the enzymatic or acid hydrolysis of casein, protein hydrolysates of medical importance are formed. For example, amigen is necessary for severe blood loss (introduced in the form of a 5% solution with the addition of glucose).
In the case of parenteral nutrition, protein hydrolysates (amikin, aminopeptide, fibrinosol) are used. The drug "Cerebrolysin", which consists of a combination of essential amino acids, is necessary for mental retardation, cerebral circulation disorders, memory loss.
Functions in the body
Like other biological macromolecules (lipids, polysaccharides, nucleic acids), proteins are essential components of living organisms. They play an important role in the life of any cell. Of particular importance is the use of proteins in metabolic processes. They are part of the organelles and cytoskeleton (intracellular structures), secreted in the space inside the cell, acting as a signal that is transmitted between cells, actively participating in the formation of the intercellular substance, as well as in the hydrolysis (breakdown) of food.
Basic functions in the body
Analyzing the use of proteins, let's focus on the main functions that these organic substances perform.
The most famous is the enzymatic significance. Enzymes are proteins that have unique catalytic properties, that is, the ability to accelerate numerous metabolic processes in a living organism.
They accelerate the breakdown of complex macromolecules (catabolism), promote their synthesis (anabolism), including DNA repair and replication and RNA template synthesis.
Despite the fact that enzymes consist (mostly) of amino acid residues, only some of them interact with the substrate, and only a few of them directly participate in catalysis.
Structural proteins of the cytoskeleton in the form of "reinforcement" give organelles a certain shape. They are active participants in the process of changing the shape of cells. Most structural proteins are filamentous. For example, buddulin and actin monomers are globular, soluble proteins, but as they polymerize, they form long filaments of the cytoskeleton, which allows the cell to maintain a certain shape.
Collagen and elastin are the main components of the intercellular substance of connective tissues (for example, cartilage). Nails, hair, bird feathers, and mollusk shells are formed from the structural protein keratin.
The protective function of these macromolecules is also important. physical protectionprovides collagen protein, which forms the basis of the connective intercellular substance of tissues, including bones, tendons, deep layers of the dermis.
Thrombins and fibrinogens, which are actively involved in the process of blood clotting, are important proteins that provide the body with physical protection.
