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A biomolecule or biological molecule is loosely defined as a molecule produced by a living organism and essential to one or more typically biological processes. [1] Biomolecules include large macromolecules such as proteins , carbohydrates , lipids , and nucleic acids , as well as small molecules such as vitamins and hormones.
Molecular biology is the study of the molecular underpinnings of the biological phenomena, focusing on molecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms and interactions. Biochemistry is the study of the chemical substances and vital processes occurring in living organisms .
Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. [1] A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, and metabolism. Over the last decades of the 20th century, biochemistry has become successful at ...
The definition of the molecule has evolved as knowledge of the structure of molecules has increased. Earlier definitions were less precise, defining molecules as the smallest particles of pure chemical substances that still retain their composition and chemical properties. [ 13 ]
In molecular biology and pharmacology, a small molecule or micromolecule is a low molecular weight (≤ 1000 daltons [1]) organic compound that may regulate a biological process, with a size on the order of 1 nm [citation needed]. Many drugs are small molecules; the terms are equivalent in the literature.
A macromolecule is a very large molecule important to biological processes, such as a protein or nucleic acid. It is composed of thousands of covalently bonded atoms . Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers .
Regulation of biological processes occurs when any process is modulated in its frequency, rate or extent. Biological processes are regulated by many means; examples include the control of gene expression, protein modification or interaction with a protein or substrate molecule.
Bioanalysis is a sub-discipline of analytical chemistry covering the quantitative measurement of xenobiotics (drugs and their metabolites, and biological molecules in unnatural locations or concentrations) and biotics (macromolecules, proteins, DNA, large molecule drugs, metabolites) in biological systems.