ATP in Building Cell Macromolecules

ATP helps cells build biological macromolecules. These organic compounds are mainly made of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and small amounts of other elements. The four major classes of biological macromolecules are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Most macr...

Macromolecules such as proteins, polynucleotides, carbohydrates, and lipids are polymers of amino acids, nucleotides, monosaccharides, and fatty acids.

Since the synthesis of these macromolecules is energetically unfavorable, the energy released by ATP hydrolysis, a favorable exergonic process, is used to power these reactions.

For...