Bioregenerative Engineering
Principles and Applications
Chapter One
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
OF MACROMOLECULES
A living organism is composed of several basic elements: water, electrolytes, nucleotides,
amino acids, sugars, and lipids. Water is the most abundant substance in a living system,
occupying about 70-85% of the total volume in most cells. All living organisms were
originally developed in water, and all biochemical and enzymatic reactions in a cell take
place in an aqueous environment. Thus, water is the most important element in a living
organism.
A cell consists of a number of electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, calcium,
magnesium, chloride, phosphate, sulfate, and bicarbonate. These electrolytes participate
in fundamental processes, such as the establishment and maintenance of cell membrane
and action potentials, regulation of biochemical and enzymatic reactions, control of ... read full excerpt from Bioregenerative Engineering: Principles and Applications ebook
