Metabolism 101 | Biology

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Metabolism 101

How Nonspontaneous Reactions Go

In biochemistry, a metabolic reaction is a chemical reaction that takes place in a living organism to sustain life. The chemical reactions of metabolism are organized into metabolic pathways. Metabolic reactions may be 'nonspontaneous', in which the reactants are directly involved in the reaction, or 'spontaneous', in which case the reactants are not directly involved in the reaction; instead a catalyst is required to trigger the reaction. In general, metabolic reactions involve the making or breaking of chemical bonds. The reactants in a reaction are often chemical compounds such as sugars, lipids, amino acids, and nucleic acids. The bonds include covalent bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrogen bonds. Enzymes are crucial to metabolism because they allow organisms to drive chemical reactions in a certain direction, as well as to determine the speed of these reactions.

Dennis Howard

What is Metabolism

Free Energy and Spontaneity

ATP

How Nonspontaneous Reactions Go

Enzymes

Enzymes II

Types of Reactions

Metabolic Regulation