Adenosine Triphosphate Chemical Properties Functions

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the nucleotide known in biochemistry as the " molecular currency" of intracellular energy transfer; that is, ATP is able to store and transport chemical energy within cells. ATP also plays an important role in the synthesis of nucleic acids.

1 Chemical properties

Chemically, ATP consists of adenosine and three phosphate groups. It has the empirical formula C₁₀H₁₆N₅O₁₃P₃, and the chemical formula C₁₀H₈N₄O₂NH₂(OH)₂(PO₃H)₃H, with a molecular mass of 507.184 u.

2 Functions

3 Phosphoryl positions

The phosphoryl groups starting with that on AMP are referred to as the alpha, beta, and gamma phosphates.

4 Synthesis

ATP can be produced by various cellular processes, most typically in mitochondria by oxidative phosphorylation under the catalytic influence of ATP synthaseAn ATP synthase is a general term for an enzyme that can synthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate by utilizing some form of energy. The overall reaction sequence is: :ADP + P → ATP These enzymes or in the case of plants in chloroplastChloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae which conduct photosynthesis. Chloroplasts are similar to mitochondria but are found only in plants. Both organelles are surrounded by a double membrane with an intermembrane space; bots by photosynthesisPhotosynthesis is a biochemical process in which plants, green algae, and some bacteria use the energy of light to combine water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy. It nourishes nearly all living things directly or indirectly, making it vital to li.

The main fuels for ATP synthesis are glucoseGlucose a simple monosaccharide sugar, is one of the most important carbohydrates and is used as a source of energy in animals and plants. Glucose is one of the main products of photosynthesis and starts respiration. The natural form (D-glucose) is also r and fatty acidIn chemistry, especially biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid (or organic acid), often with a long aliphatic tail (long chains), either saturated or unsaturated. Most of the natural fatty acids have an even number of carbon atoms, because theys. Initially glucose is broken down into pyruvatePyruvate CHCOCOO&minus is the ionized form of pyruvic acid. It is an important chemical compound in biochemistry. It is the output of the breakdown of glucose known as glycolysis, and (in aerobic respiration) the main input for the citric acid cycle. in the cytosolThe cytosol (as opposed to cytoplasm which also includes the organelles) is the internal fluid of the cell, and a large part of cell metabolism occurs here. Proteins within the cytosol play an important role in signal transduction pathways, glycolysis, an. Two molecules of ATP are generated for each molecule of glucose. The terminal stages of ATP synthesis are carried out in the mitochondrion and can generate up to 36 ATP.

5 ATP in the human body

The total quantity of ATP in the human body is about 0.1 moleThe mole (symbol: mol) is one of the seven SI base units and is commonly used in chemistry. It measures the amount of substance of a system and is defined as the amount of substance that contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in exactly 0. The energy is used by human cells for the hydrolysis of 200 to 300 moles of ATP daily. This means that each ATP molecule is recycled 2000 to 3000 times during a single day. ATP cannot be stored, hence its synthesis must closely follow its consumption.

6 Human ATP synthesis

The body has four methods to create ATP, they vary by speed, and by whether they burn oxygen or not.

Explosive Force - The ATP-CP System: ADP + Creatine phosphate (CP) ==> ATP + Creatine. By far the fastest way to get that third phosphate group is to grab it off of a molecule called "creatine phosphate" or CP. When you are doing very explosive exercise for 10-30 seconds, such as an all-out sprint, the burst of energy is delivered by the ATP-CP system. Fast, doesn't require oxygen, but extremely limited to short periods of explosive force.

Sugar Burning - Step 1 (Anaerobic Glycolysis): ADP + glucose ==> ATP + pyruvic acid (which converts to lactate if not burned with oxygen). The next fastest method of getting energy is to turn a sugar molecule into lactic acid. This doesn't require oxygen either. This system is effective for vigorous exercise of between 1-3 minutes in duration. When the intensity of the exercise requires more energy than what can be burned with the oxygen you are breathing, your body starts "partially" burning glucose anaerobically (without oxygen). This is the system you want to be using during "wind sprints". This is a system that has to be trained in order to get fast results, but again, this system can be used only for a limited period. As lactic acid builds up in your muscles, you start to feel them "burn". If you go beyond a few minutes of this, the acidity of the muscle tissue increases and the muscles start to have difficulty generating meaningful amounts of energy.

Sugar Burning - Step 2 (Aerobic Glycolysis): ADP + lactate + oxygen ==> ATP + water + carbon dioxide. This is the next system, and for all practical purposes is the one you use most often when exercising. Once glucose has been converted to lactate anaerobically (without oxygen), the body then burns the lactate using oxygen to create more ATP.

Fat Burning (Aerobic Lipolysis): Fat + oxygen + ADP ==> ATP + water + carbon dioxide. This is by far the slowest system. It is, in fact, too slow to contribute extensively to energy production during exercise (in fact, if you ever deplete your glycogen stores so much that the body has to rely on lipolysis for its energy, your muscle movement slows down dramatically). In order to mobilize fat, a " triglyceride" has to be broken down into fatty acids, bound to proteins, and other time-consuming feats. The good news, is that lipid (fat) metabolism is the main way that your glycogen stores are replenished after exercise. That's why it can be useful to work out in the morning on an empty stomach and wait about an hour after your workout before eating - your glycogen stores are more depleted by the end of your workout and you burn more fat afterward.

Source: John P. Hussman, Ph.D., MSEd. [1]

7 Other triphosphates

Living cells also have other "high-energy" nucleoside triphosphates, such as guanine triphosphate . Between them and ATP, energy can be easily transferred with reactions such as those catalyzed by nucleoside diphosphokinase : Energy is released when hydrolysis of the phosphate-phosphate bonds is carried out. This energy can be used by a variety of enzymes, motor protein s, and transport proteins to carry out the work of the cell. Also, the hydrolysis yields free inorganic phosphate and adenosine diphosphate, which can be broken down further to another phosphate ion and adenosine monophosphate. ATP can also be broken down to adenosine monophosphate directly, with the formation of pyrophosphate. This last reaction has the advantage of being an effectively irreversible process in aqueous solution.

7.1 Reaction of ADP with GTP

ADP + GTP ATP + GDP

There is talk of using ATP as a power source for nanotechnology and implants. Artificial pacemakers could become independent of batteries.

8 See also

Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
ATPases
ATP Hydrolysis
Citric acid cycle (also called the Krebs cycle)
Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)
Phosphagen
Thioesters are related to ATP

9 External link

ATP and biological energy

Nucleotides

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