Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and transformations in living organisms, including the structure and function of cellular components, such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and other biomolecules.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to biochemistry:

Essence of biochemistry

Biochemistry is the science deals with chemical composition and its reactions, happening in the living cells of organisms, such as mammals, vertebrates, plants and all living organisms.

Branches of biochemistry

Biochemistry has few branches. However, it touches almost any other Bio science matter and it came out of the Organic chemistry:

Main branches are

• Animal Biochemistry
• Plant Biochemistry
• Molecular Biology
• Cell Biology
• Metabolism
• Immunology
• Genetics
• Enzymatic biology

Other branches are

[[Biotechnology, Bioluminescence, Molecular Chemistry, Enzymatic Chemistry, Biogenetics, Genetic engineering, Pharmaceuticals, Endocrinology, Cytology, Hematology, Nutrition and Photosynthesis]]

History of biochemistry

Main article: History of biochemistry

General biochemistry concepts

• Major categories of bio-compounds:
  • Carbohydrates : sugar -- disaccharide -- polysaccharide -- starch -- glycogen
  • Lipids : fatty acid -- fats -- essential oils -- oils -- waxes -- cholesterol
  • Nucleic acids : DNA -- RNA -- mRNA -- tRNA -- rRNA -- codon -- adenosine -- cytosine -- guanine -- thymine -- uracil
  • Proteins :
    • amino acid -- glycine -- arginine -- lysine
    • peptide -- primary structure -- secondary structure -- tertiary structure -- conformation -- protein folding
• Chemical properties:
  • molecular bond -- covalent bond -- ionic bond -- hydrogen bond -- ester -- ethyl
  • molecular charge -- hydrophilic -- hydrophobic -- polar
  • pH -- acid -- alkaline -- base
  • oxidation -- reduction -- hydrolysis
• Structural compounds:
  • In cells: flagellin -- peptidoglycan -- myelin -- actin -- myosin
  • In animals: chitin -- keratin -- collagen -- silk
  • In plants: cellulose -- lignin -- cell wall
• Enzymes and enzyme activity:
  • enzyme kinetics -- enzyme inhibition
  • proteolysis -- ubiquitin -- proteasome
  • kinase -- dehydrogenase
• Membranes : fluid mosaic model -- diffusion -- osmosis
  • phospholipids -- glycolipid -- glycocalyx -- antigen -- isoprene
  • ion channel -- proton pump -- electron transport -- ion gradient -- antiporter -- symporter -- quinone -- riboflavin
• Energy pathways :
  • pigments : chlorophyll -- carotenoids -- xanthophyll -- cytochrome -- phycobilin -- bacteriorhodopsin -- hemoglobin -- myoglobin -- absorption spectrum -- action spectrum -- fluorescence
  • Photosynthesis : light reaction -- dark reaction
  • Fermentation : Acetyl-CoA -- lactic acid
  • Cellular respiration : Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) -- NADH -- pyruvate -- oxalate -- citrate
  • Chemosynthesis
• Regulation
  • hormones : auxin
  • signal transduction -- growth factor -- transcription factor -- protein kinase -- SH3 domain
  • Malfunctions : tumor -- oncogene -- tumor suppressor gene
  • Receptors : Integrin -- transmembrane receptor -- ion channel
• Techniques : electrophoresis -- chromatography -- mass spectrometry -- x-ray diffraction -- Southern blot -- fractionation -- Gram stain

Leaders in biochemistry

Biochemistry lists

Main article: List of biochemistry topics

See also

Biochemistry portal

External links

Find more about Biochemistry on Wikipedia's sister projects: Definitions from Wiktionary

Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews

Learning resources from Wikiversity

• The Virtual Library of Biochemistry and Cell Biology
• Biochemistry, 5th ed. Full text of Berg, Tymoczko, and Stryer, courtesy of NCBI.
• Biochemistry, 2nd ed. Full text of Garrett and Grisham.
• Costa Rican Biotechnology Society
• Cell Biochemistry
• Biochemistry (the scientific journal).