Concept, Types, Functions and Importance

We explain what biomolecules are and how organic and inorganic biomolecules are.What are their functions and importance?

Lipids have a hydrophobic side, that is, water repellent.

What are biomolecules?

Biomolecules or biological molecules are all those substances of living beings , either as a product of their biological functions or as a constituent of their bodies, in a huge and varied range of sizes, forms and functions.The six main sets of biomolecules are carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, amino acids, vitamins and nucleic acids.

The body of living beings is mainly made up of complex combinations of six elements primordial, which are carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sulfur (S).This is because these elements allow:

• the formation of highly stable covalent bonds (sharing electrons), whether single, double or triple;


• the formation of three-dimensional carbon skeletons;


• the construction of multiple functional groups with extremely different and particular characteristics.

For this reason, the biomolecules are usually made up of these types of chemical elements .They all share, in addition, a fundamental relationship between structure and functions, which also involves the environment in which the biomolecule takes place: for example, lipids have a hydrophobic side, that is, that repels water, so they are usually organized in the presence of it so that hydrophilic ends (attracted to water) remain in contact with the environment and the hydrophobes remain in their custody.These types of functions are key to the understanding of the biochemical functioning of living organisms.

Depending on their chemical nature, the biomolecules can be classified as organic and inorganic , as will be seen later.

See also: Biochemistry.

Inorganic biomolecules

Inorganic biomolecules are not carbon based.

There are biomolecules common to living beings and inert bodies , but which are nevertheless indispensable for the existence of life.The type of molecules are not based on carbon, as is the case with organic chemistry, but they can have different types of elements, attracted to each other by their electromagnetic properties.

Some examples of inorganic biomolecules are water, certain monoatomic gases such as oxygen (O2) or hydrogen (H2), or inorganic salts such as anions and cations.

Organic biomolecules

Organic biomolecules are the product of the body's own chemical reactions.

On the other hand, there are organic biomolecules, that is, based on carbon chemistry and which are the product of chemical reactions of the body or the metabolism of living beings.Its atomic constitution is similar to theirs, although they may also present unusual elements, such as transition metals: iron (Fe), cobalt (Co) or nickel (Ni ), calling then trace elements and being indispensable, although in moderate quantities, for life.

Any protein, amino acid, lipid, carbohydrate, nucleic acid or vitamin is a good example of this type of biomolecules.

Functions of biomolecules

Inheritance in living beings is possible thanks to the existence of DNA.

Biomolecules can have many different functions, such as:

• Structural functions. Proteins and lipids serve as a matter of cell support, giving structure to the body and allowing the generation of membranes, tissues, etc.


• Transport functions. Other biomolecules are used to mobilize nutrients and other substances throughout the body, inside and outside the cells, joining them through specific bonds that can then be broken.


• Catalysis functions. Certain specialized proteins make up enzymes, substances that accelerate, slow down, trigger or inhibit certain bodily functions, keeping the organism under control.In that sense, proteins and certain lipids function as chemical messengers of the body.


• Energy functions. Biochemical energy comes from certain reactions that take place within the body of living beings, either autotrophically (composing carbohydrates of inorganic matter) or heterotrophic (obtaining carbohydrates of matter organic consumed), through a glucose oxidation metabolism that breaks its bonds and releases the energy contained in them.In that sense, lipids can also serve as the body's energy reserve.


• Genetic functions. Inheritance in living beings is possible thanks to the existence of DNA and RNA, chains of nucleic acids that contain genetic information of living beings, through a complex and unique sequence of nucleotides that determine the exact sequence of amino acids that make up, as a set of instructions, the composition of the body's proteins.

Importance of biomolecules

Biomolecules are important not only because fulfill vital functions of sustaining, regulating and transporting the body of living beings , but because they integrate their bodies themselves, that is, our bodies are made of them.The biomolecules are integrated to form larger compounds successively, to form the cells and the various tissues of the body, without them, we simply could not exist.

Bioelements and biomolecules

The chemical elements from which the biomolecules are composed are called bioelements, and we have detailed at the beginning: Carbon (C), oxygen (O), hydrogen ( H), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P).With only these six elements, 99% of the living matter of all known living beings is made up.They are also known as primary bioelements: the fundamental bricks of the building of life.

On the other hand, secondary bioelements are those that, although indispensable for life and for the proper performance of the body, are required in moderate quantities and for specific purposes, such as sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and potassium (K).

And finally there are the trace elements, which as the name implies are necessary but in very low amounts (0.1% of the body's bioelements), such as iron (Fe) and iodine (I).