The structure of ATP
ATP stands for Adenosine triphosphate (as you can see from the title :)). What does that mean? Adenosine refers to the nucleotide adenine (the same type of adenine that is present in our DNA!) bond to ribose (the same type of sugar that is present in RNA!)
There are three (tri = three) phosphate groups attached to adenosine. All of them are negatively charged, which makes ATP an unstable molecule.
What do we need ATP for?
ATP is an energy carrier. It provides energy for all cells activities. For instance, if we want to contract a muscle, proteins in the muscle cells need ATP. Active transport into and out of the cell, such as phagocytosis or pinocytosis, also requires energy. This energy is provided by ATP.
How? Well, it transfers a phosphate group. This occurs during ATP hydrolysis. When the molecule of ATP is hydrolyzed, a phosphate is transferred and energy is released. The picture below shows how that looks like.
Please click here to watch my video about ATP
ATP stands for Adenosine triphosphate (as you can see from the title :)). What does that mean? Adenosine refers to the nucleotide adenine (the same type of adenine that is present in our DNA!) bond to ribose (the same type of sugar that is present in RNA!)
There are three (tri = three) phosphate groups attached to adenosine. All of them are negatively charged, which makes ATP an unstable molecule.
ATP is an energy carrier. It provides energy for all cells activities. For instance, if we want to contract a muscle, proteins in the muscle cells need ATP. Active transport into and out of the cell, such as phagocytosis or pinocytosis, also requires energy. This energy is provided by ATP.
How? Well, it transfers a phosphate group. This occurs during ATP hydrolysis. When the molecule of ATP is hydrolyzed, a phosphate is transferred and energy is released. The picture below shows how that looks like.
Please click here to watch my video about ATP
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