The Atom
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Food Science and Human Nutrition Program and Human Nutrition Program
Cells are the basic building blocks of life, but atoms are the basic building blocks of all matter, living and nonliving. The structural elements of an are protons (positively charged), (no charge), and (negatively charged). Protons and neutrons are contained in the dense nucleus of the atom; the nucleus thus has a positive charge. Because opposites attract, electrons are attracted to this nucleus and move around it in the electron cloud.
Electrons contain energy, and this energy is stored within the charge and movement of electrons and the bonds atoms make with one another. However, this energy is not always stable, depending on the number of electrons within an atom. Atoms are more stable when their electrons orbit in pairs. An atom with an odd number of electrons must have an unpaired electron. In most cases, these unpaired electrons are used to create chemical bonds. A chemical bond is the attractive force between atoms and contains . By bonding, electrons find pairs and chemicals become part of a molecule.
Bond formation and bond breaking are chemical reactions that involve the movement of electrons between atoms. These chemical reactions occur continuously in the body. We previously reviewed how breaks down into water and carbon dioxide as part of cellular respiration. The energy released by breaking those bonds is used to form molecules of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Recall how during this process electrons are extracted from glucose in a stepwise manner and transferred to other molecules. Occasionally electrons “escape” and, instead of completing the cellular respiration cycle, are transferred to an oxygen molecule. Oxygen (a molecule with two atoms) with one unpaired electron is known as superoxide (Figure 8.2).
Atoms and molecules such as superoxide that have unpaired electrons are called ; those containing oxygen are more specifically referred to as reactive oxygen species. The unpaired electron in free radicals destabilizes them, making them highly reactive. Other reactive oxygen species include hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxyl radical.
Figure 8.2 Superoxide
A molecule with one unpaired electron, which makes it a free radical.
The reactivity of free radicals is what poses a threat to macromolecules such as DNA, RNA, proteins, and fatty acids. Free radicals can cause chain reactions that ultimately damage cells. For example, a superoxide molecule may react with a fatty acid and steal one of its electrons. The fatty acid then becomes a free radical that can react with another fatty acid nearby. As this chain reaction continues, the permeability and fluidity of cell membranes changes, proteins in cell membranes experience decreased activity, and receptor proteins undergo changes in structure that either alter or stop their function. If receptor proteins designed to react to levels undergo a structural change it can negatively