BIOENERGETICS

Prepared by
Dr H V SANTHOSHI ALLU
Professor
AIPS
Concept of free energy,
endergonic and exergonic reaction,
Relationship between free energy, enthalpy
and entropy;
Redox potential:
 Energy rich compounds; classification;
 biological significances of ATP and cyclic
AMP
 INTRODUCTION TO BIOENERGETICS
•The word “Bioenergetics” combines two roots:
•“Bio” signifies life or living organisms

•“Energetics” refers to the study of energy

•In essence, bioenergetics explores how energy changes occur during biological
processes.
•This branch of biochemistry focuses on how living cells convert and manage energy.
•The goal of bioenergetics is to describe how living organisms acquire and transform
energy in order to perform biological work. The study of metabolic pathways is thus
essential to bioenergetics.Understanding metabolic pathways is therefore
fundamental to this field
•Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the main "energy currency" for organisms; the goal
of metabolic and catabolic processes are to synthesize ATP from available starting
materials (from the environment), and to break- down ATP (into adenosine
diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate) by utilizing it in biological processes. -
•In a cell, the ratio of ATP to ADP concentrations is known as the "energy
charge" of the cell
•Living organisms produce ATP from energy sources via oxidative
phosphorylation. The terminal phosphate bonds of ATP are relatively weak
compared with the stronger bonds formed when ATP is hydrolyzed (broken
down by water) to adenosine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate.
• Here it is the thermodynamically favorable free energy of hydrolysis that
results in energy release; the phosphoanhydride bond between the terminal
phosphate group and the rest of the ATP molecule does not itself contain this
energy
Types of Bioenergetics Reactions
1. Exergonic Reaction - Exergonic implies the release of energy from a
spontaneous chemical reaction without any concomitant utilization of
energy. - The reactions are significant in terms of biology as these reactions
have an ability to perform work and include most of the catabolic reactions
in cellular respiration.
• Most of these reactions involve the breaking of bonds during the formation
of reaction intermediates as is evidently observed during respiratory
pathways. The bonds that are created during the formation of metabolites
are stronger than the cleaved bonds of the substrate. –
• The release of free energy, G, in an exergonic reaction (at constant pressure
and temperature) is denoted as ΔG = Gproducts – Greactants < 0
2. Endergonic Reactions - Endergonic in turn is the opposite of exergonic in being
non-spontaneous and requires an input of free energy. Most of the anabolic
reactions like photosynthesis and DNA and protein synthesis are endergonic in
nature.
• The release of free energy, G, in an exergonic reaction (at constant pressure and
temperature) is denoted as ΔG = Gproducts – Greactants > 0
3.Activation Energy - Activation energy is the energy which must be
available to a chemical system with potential reactants to result in a
chemical reaction. Activation energy may also be defined as the minimum
energy required starting a chemical reaction.
Bioenergetics Relationship Between Free Energy, Enthalpy & Entropy –
Every living cell and organism must perform work to stay alive, to grow and to
reproduce. The ability to harvest energy from nutrients or photons of light and to
channel it into biological work is the miracle of life.
1 st Law of Thermodynamics: The energy of the universe remains constant.
2 nd Law of Thermodynamics: All spontaneous processes increase the entropy of
the universe. –
The important state functions for the study of biological systems are:
The Gibbs free energy (G) which is equal to the total amount of energy capable of
doing work during a process at constant temperature and pressure.
o If ∆G is negative, then the process is spontaneous and termed exergonic.
o If ∆G is positive, then the process is nonspontaneous and termed endergonic.
o If ∆G is equal to zero, then the process has reached equilibrium.
The Enthalpy (H) which is the heat content of the system. Enthalpy is the amount of heat
energy transferred (heat absorbed or emitted) in a chemical process under constant
pressure.
o When ∆H is negative the process produces heat and is termed exothermic.
o When ∆H is positive the process absorbs heat and is termed endothermic.
The Entropy (S) is a quantitative expression of the degree of randomness or disorder of the
system. Entropy measures the amount of heat dispersed or transferred during a chemical
process.
o When ∆S is positive then the disorder of the system has increased.
o When ∆S is negative then the disorder of the system has decreased.
The conditions of biological systems are constant temperature and pressure. Under such
conditions the relationships between the change in free energy, enthalpy and entropy can be
described by the expression where T is the temperature of the system in Kelvin.
∆G = ∆H − T∆S
[∆G = Gibbs Free Energy; ∆H = Change in Enthalpy; T = Temperature in K; ∆S = Change in
Entropy]
Examples of Major Bioenergetics Processes
Glycolysis is
Gluconeogenesis
TCA Cycle
Ketosis
Oxidative Phosphorylation ana Electron transport chain
Photosynthesis
REDOX POTENTIAL
•Quantitavive expression of tendency of the compound that has to receive or
give electrons.
• redox potential, also known as oxidation-reduction potential, is a measure of a
substance's tendency to gain or lose electrons, indicating its ability to participate in
redox reactions
•In bioenergetics, redox potential is balance between or ratio of NAD+ to
NADH + H+.
•This describes availability of NAD+ for metabolism.
•In essence, redox potential is a fundamental concept that helps us understand how
electrons are transferred in biological systems, driving the processes that sustain life.
Redox potential is typically measured in millivolts (mV) or volts (V).
 Energy Rich Compounds
Energy-rich compounds are molecules that release a significant amount of free energy
upon hydrolysis of their bonds, typically those involving phosphate groups. These
compounds, also known as high-energy compounds, are crucial for powering various
cellular processes.
Examples of Energy-Rich Compounds: Oxidative Phosphorylation, Glycolysis, TCA cycle
ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate): The most important energy-rich compound in cells,
often called the "energy currency". It contains two phosphoanhydride bonds that can
be hydrolyzed to release energy.
Phosphoenolpyruvate: An enol phosphate compound with a high-energy bond, formed
during glycolysis.
1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate: An acyl phosphate compound generated during glycolysis.
Phosphocreatine: A guanidine phosphate compound that serves as a reservoir of
energy in muscle cells.
Acetyl-CoA: Contains a thioester bond that can be hydrolyzed to release energy.
Energy shuttles:
i. NADH: An energy shuttle which delivers high energy electrons to the electron
transport chain where they will eventually power the production of 2 to 3 ATP
molecules. When this electron shuttle is not carrying high energy electrons,
meaning it has been oxidized (lost its electrons), it is left with a positive
charge and is called NAD+ .
ii. ii. FADH2: Another energy shuttle that carries high energy electrons to the
electron transport chain, where they will ultimately drive production of 1 to 2
ATP molecules. The oxidized form of FADH2 is FAD and happens just like in
NADH.
High energy molecules:
iii. ATP: The basic energy currency of the cell. It’s a form of energy that cells
can use right away.
iv. GTP: Similar to ATP, GTP can be easily converted to ATP in the cell.
 ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE (ATP)
•Adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) is a multifunctional nucleotide used in cells as a
coenzyme.
• It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer.
ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism.
•It is produced by photophosphorylation and cellular respiration and used by
enzymes and structural proteins in many cellular processes, including
biosynthetic reactions, motility, and cell division.
•One molecule of ATP contains three phosphate groups and it is produced by ATP
synthase from inorganic phosphate and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or
adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
The structure of this molecule consists of a purine base (adenine) attached to the
1' carbon atom of a pentose sugar (ribose). Three phosphate groups are attached
at the 5' carbon atom of the pentose sugar. It is the addition and removal of these
phosphate groups that inter-convert ATP, ADP and AMP. When ATP is used in DNA
synthesis, the ribose sugar is first converted to deoxyribose by ribonucleotide
reductase
The three main functions of ATP in cellular function are:
1. Energy Transfer
2. Cellular Processes: Muscle Contraction (Supplying energy for mechanical work,
such as muscle contraction. ), Active Transport (Transporting organic substances
—such as sodium, calcium, potassium—through the cell membrane), Nerve
Impulse Transmission, Biosynthesis (Synthesizing chemical compounds, such as
protein and cholesterol), Cell Signaling, Enzyme Activation
3. Metabolism
4. Other Functions:
ATP acts as a neurotransmitter in certain neural signaling processes.
It is involved in the formation of liquid-liquid phase separated (LLPS) droplets in the
nucleus, which are important for regulating gene transcription and genome
replication.
ATP is also involved in maintaining cellular homeostasis, such as regulating ion
gradients and osmotic balance
The standard amount of energy released from hydrolysis of ATP can be
calculated from the changes in energy under non-natural (standard) conditions,
then correcting to biological concentrations.
The energy released by cleaving either a phosphate (Pi) or pyrophosphate (PPi)
unit from ATP at standard state of 1 M are:
ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi ΔG˚ = −30.5 kJ/mol (−7.3 kcal/mol)
ATP + H2O → AMP + PPi ΔG˚ = −45.6 kJ/mol (−10.9 kcal/mol)
These values can be used to calculate the change in energy under physiological
conditions and the cellular ATP/ADP ratio (also known as the Energy Charge).
This reaction is dependent on a number of factors, including overall ionic
strength and the presence of alkaline earth metal ions such as Mg2+ and Ca2+.
Under typical cellular conditions, ΔG is approximately −57 kJ/mol (−14
kcal/mol).
 CYCLIC ADENOSINE MONOPHOSPHATE
(cAMP, cyclic AMP or 3'-5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate)

It is a second messenger important in many biological processes. cAMP is

derived from adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and used for intracellular signal
transduction in many different organisms, conveying the cAMP-dependent
pathway.
cAMP is synthesised from ATP by adenylyl cyclase located on the inner side
of the plasma membrane. Adenylyl cyclase is activated by a range of
signaling molecules through the activation of adenylyl cyclase stimulatory G
(Gs)-protein-coupled receptors and inhibited by agonists of adenylyl cyclase
inhibitory G (Gi)-protein-coupled receptors. Liver adenylyl cyclase responds
more strongly to glucagon, and muscle adenylyl cyclase responds more
strongly to adrenaline.
cAMP decomposition into AMP is catalyzed by the enzyme
phosphodiesterase
Function: cAMP is a second messenger, used for intracellular signal transduction, such as
transferring the effects of hormones like glucagon and adrenaline, which cannot pass
through the cell membrane. It is involved in the activation of protein kinases and regulates
the effects of adrenaline and glucagon. It also regulates the passage of Ca2+ through ion
channels. cAMP and its associated kinases function in several biochemical processes,
including the regulation of glycogen, sugar, and lipid metabolism by activating protein
kinase
1.Energy Metabolism: Interconversion with ATP and ADP, Regulation of AMPK, Signaling
molecule
2. RNA Synthesis: Building block: AMP is a nucleotide and a building block of RNA, essential
for protein synthesis and genetic information transmission.
3. Signaling Pathways
4. Other Functions:
Bitter blocker: AMP and other nucleotides can inhibit the perception of bitterness in food.
Immune function: AMP plays a role in immune cell signaling and response.
THANK YOU