How Water Contributes To The Structure And Behavior Of Biological Molecules

Introduction Water, H 2 O, is one of the most important compounds on the planet and is used in all kinds of chemical and biological processes such as solvents, protein folding, nucleic acid stability, It is called the foundation of life. Water exists in three states (solid, liquid, gas), it is the most abundant natural substance on Earth, accounting for 75% of the Earth's surface. Structural water is located on the oxygen atom of two lone pairs of electrons and two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (bonded by a covalent bond between O - H atoms) and the bond angle is 104.50.

Water is very important for all life systems on the planet and is one of the more unique molecules. It can not exist unless it is on the planet, or perhaps on other planets. The molecular structure of water makes it very unique. Water is a polar covalent molecule, which means that part of the molecule has a positive charge and the other part has a negative charge. Because water is a partially polar molecule, it has many important biological properties that make it essential to create and maintain life on the planet. (Conway, A and others)

Cells are composed of water, inorganic ions, and carbon-containing (organic) molecules. Water is the most abundant molecule in the cell, accounting for over 70% of the total mass of the cell. Therefore, the interaction between water and other components of the cell is important in biochemistry. In this respect, the important property of water is that the hydrogen atoms are slightly positive charges and oxygen is a polar molecule with a slightly negative charge (Fig. 1). Due to their polarity, water molecules can form hydrogen bonds with each other or form hydrogen bonds with other polar molecules, as well as positively or negatively charged ions. Due to these interactions, ions and polar molecules are easily dissolved in water (hydrophilic). In contrast, nonpolar molecules that can not interact with water have low solubility in aqueous environments (hydrophobic).

Cells are mainly composed of water molecules, but there are many other important biomolecules essential to life. The polymer is most important as it supports the cells structurally, retains energy like batteries, acts as a catalyst for biochemical reactions, and preserves genetic information and many other important functions. Polymers are formed from monomers - simple molecules can be combined with other molecules to form larger and more complex molecules.