Hydrogen bonds are very important in living systems, allowing flexibility while maintaining conformation. They exist when a hydrogen covalently bonded to an oxygen or nitrogen atom is attracted to another hydrogen or nitrogen within a polar molecule. This is particularly critical in the case of enzymes as their shape, particularly of the active site, dictates their function. If a protein is denatured by heat or chemical means it will lose its shape but more importantly it will loose its activity. Return to top Water and its properties One of the most abundant inorganic compounds vital for living organisms.
Water is a polar molecule.
Owing to its many hydrogen bonds,water maintains a relatively constant temperature and protects cells from harmful temperature variations. This occurs in many of the decomposition reactions of digestion. For a review of the following important macromolecules click here For the following discussion, the emphasis will be on relevance to microbiological systems. The fermentation products of various sugars are very useful in bacterial identification. All carbohydrates contain C, H, and O atoms.