Molecules in living organisms are mainly built from 4 kinds of small organic molecules (composed mostly of carbon and nitrogen, but also of hydrogen and oxygen). These components are assembled into:
These 4 kinds of small organic molecules are monomers of macromolecules. They polymerise to build macromolecules:
Molecular Biology deals with nucleic acids, and their structure, their function, their replication, their interplay in biological processes, their interactions with other macromolecules, etc.
| Small organic molecules | Cellular macromolecules |
|---|---|
| Monosaccharides | Polysaccharides |
| Fatty acids | Lipids |
| Amino Acids | Proteins |
| Nucleotides | Nucleic Acids |