Bonds Of A Disaccharide example essay topic

255 words
Lisa Stephan BIO-105-E 4 October 9, 2003 Explain the role of dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis in the formation and breakdown of organic molecules. Give examples of each. The role of dehydration synthesis in the formation of organic molecules is to fuse two monosaccharides (simple sugars) together to form a disaccharide (double sugar). This synthesis reaction is accomplished by releasing a water molecule during bond formation. As a result, a disaccharide is formed from the two monosaccharides. Example: 2 C 6 H 12 O 6 C 12 H 22 O 11 + H 2 O glucose + fructose sucrose water The role of hydrolysis in the breakdown of organic molecules is to break the bonds of a disaccharide (double sugar) to produce its two monosaccharides (simple sugars).

This decomposition process is achieved by adding a water molecule to each bond, thus, breaking the bonds and releasing the simple sugar units. This process is necessary for the disaccharide to be absorbed from the digestive tract into the blood. Disaccharides are too large to pass through cell membranes, therefore, it has to be broken down into it two sugar units for diffusion to be possible. Hydrolysis is essentially the reverse of dehydration synthesis. Example: H 2 O + C 12 H 22 O 11 -- - 2 C 6 H 12 O 6 water sucrose glucose + fructose Conclusion: 2 C 6 H 12 O 6 dehydration synthesis C 12 H 22 O 11 + H 2 O.