Structural Biochemistry Assignment: Biomolecules, Lipids, and Viruses

This assignment explores the roles and identification of biomolecules, specifically focusing on lipids, saturated versus unsaturated fats, and their relationship to cardiovascular health. It also delves into the structural and chemical composition of viruses, including the identification of viral biomolecules like proteins and nucleic acids, and the development of antiviral drugs. The assignment discusses various techniques used for virus identification, such as immunofluorescence assays and PCR, and highlights the importance of understanding viral protein structures for developing targeted antiviral treatments. References to several studies are provided, offering insights into the impact of dietary fats on health and the ongoing research in antiviral drug development, including those targeting HIV and hepatitis B viruses, and the COVID-19 virus.

Running head = BIOMOLECULES 0
Biomolecules
Role of Biomolecules
SystemJP
[Pick the date]

Biomolecules
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Question 1
Answer 1:
Saturated molecule corresponds to the long-chain carbon molecule, without any double bond
formation in the chain; they are generally solid at room temperature. Monounsaturated molecules
correspond to the presence of one double bond structure in the molecule. Polyunsaturated
molecule corresponds to the long-chain carbon molecule, with more than one double bond
structure present on the carbon chain. The presence of a high concentration of saturated
molecules in the diet has been associated with the increase in the risk of cardiovascular disorders.
The study reported by (DiNicolantonio et al., 2016) indicated that presence of a high
concentration of saturated fat could increase the concentration of blood cholesterol level,
however, it was reported that changing the diet habit and replacing saturated food component
with refined carbohydrate has increased the risk for cardiovascular diseases. The study published
by (Willett, 2012), it was reported that replacing food products containing saturated fat with
monounsaturated or polyunsaturated or combination of both could result in a reduction of risk of
cardiovascular disorder. The comparative effect in terms of the application of monounsaturated
fatty acid and polyunsaturated fatty acid on cardiovascular disease has been reported by (Moll,
2020), and it was established that replacing saturated fat with either of the mono or
polyunsaturated fat would result in a reduction in cardiovascular disorder. However, studies have
reported that monounsaturated fat is slightly better than polyunsaturated fat for a reduction in
heart diseases (Broaddus, 2016). The data presented in Table 1 describes the composition of

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different types of oil in terms of different types of fatty acid molecules. From the data of Table 1,
it was clear that coconut oil had a higher concentration of saturated fatty acid followed by butter,
soybean, olive, and canola as per the above discussion high concentration of saturated fatty acid
would result in cardiovascular disorder.
Question 2
Answer 2:
To identify the biomolecules present in a virus, a detailed physical and chemical composition of
the virus must be known. In the case of a typical virus, it consists of DNA or RNA as their
genetic material, covering made of protein that comprises the nucleic material. Moreover, few
viruses comprise of both fat and protein at their outer structure. At the time of infection, a virus
is known as the virion, and each virion produces a protein structure that is specific from that
virus nucleic acid material. Therefore for the identification virus different biomolecule such as
protein and nucleic acid, any of the following techniques “immunofluorescence based assay,
polymerase chain reaction, ELISA and hemagglutination assay)” could be used to identify
biomolecules specific to the virus (Kumar, 2013). Numerous viral contaminations resolve all
alone without treatment. Most of the viral infection treatment only involves the treatment of
symptoms along with the easement in the symptoms rather than any harm to the viral life. For
instance, cold medication eases the torment and clog related to the cold, however, it doesn't act
straightforwardly on the cold infection. There are a few drugs that work legitimately on
infections. These are called antiviral prescriptions. They work by hindering the creation of
infectious particles. Some meddle with the creation of viral DNA. Others forestall infections
from entering host cells. There are different manners by which this medicine works. All in all,
antiviral medicines are best when they are taken at an early stage throughout an underlying viral

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disease or an intermittent episode. The continuous evolution in the viruses along with the
emergence of new viruses in almost every year has, put a major challenge and stress over the
scientific community for the discovery and development of the antiviral drug. Recent studies
have shown the development of antiviral drugs for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and
the hepatitis B virus (HBV) to work as a suppressor of the virus. The study published by (Das &
Arnold, 2013), indicated that the reverse transcriptase enzyme of HIV is working towards the
development of resistance against the antiviral medication, however, the authors also suggested
that with the identification of reverse transcriptase molecule, it would helpful for the researchers,
to target the enzyme and inhibit the growth cycle of the virus. A paper published by (Luo et al.,
2015), reported the advancement of the structural and chemical identification of the NS3 protein
of flavivirus. The protein plays a vital role in the life cycle of the virus as it is responsible for the
possession of viral nucleic acid-related protein along with that the protein also has been reported
as the primary center for the replication of the virus since the identification of the protein is
specific to the virus action, antiviral drug development has been carried out for targeting the
specific protein NS3. In the study published by (Báez-Santos et al., 2015), indicated that the
identification of virus-specific protein such as PLpro and 3CLpro could work as the primary
target for the development of antiviral drugs, the study also reported the function of the protein
which would further help in determining the pharm kinetics of the antiviral drug developed. The
primary reason for targeting PLpro is that it would help in stopping the virus multiplication along
with that it would also inhibit the dysregulation cell signals which would further result in cell
death and stoppage of virus proliferation. In the study presented by (Chen et al., 2020), presented
the genomic structure and information regarding the protein associated with the virus. The
protein reported for the COVID-19 could be used as the identifier for the presence of the virus,
along with that it would also help in developing target specific antiviral drugs for the treatment
purpose.

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References
Báez-Santos, Y.M., St John, S.E. & Mesecar, A.D., 2015. The SARS-coronavirus papain-like
protease: structure, function and inhibition by designed antiviral compounds. Antiviral research,
115, pp.21-38.
Broaddus, H., 2016. Monounsaturated Vs. Polyunsaturated Vs. Saturated Fat: What Are They?
[Online] Available at: http://www.centrafoods.com/blog/monounsaturated-vs-polyunsaturated-
vs-saturated-fat-what-are-they [Accessed 19 April 2020].
Chen, Y., Liu, Q. & Guo, D., 2020. Emerging coronaviruses: genome structure, replication, and
pathogenesis. Journal of medical virology, 92(4), pp.418-23.
Das, K. & Arnold, E., 2013. HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and antiviral drug resistance. Part 1.
Current opinion in virology, 3(2), pp.111-18.
DiNicolantonio, J.J., Lucan, S.C. & O’Keefe, J.H., 2016. The evidence for saturated fat and for
sugar related to coronary heart disease. Progress in cardiovascular diseases, 58(5), pp.464-72.
Kumar, P., 2013. Virus Identification and Quantification. [Online] Available at:
https://www.labome.com/method/Virus-Identification-and-Quantification.html [Accessed 20
April 2020].
Luo, D., Vasudevan, S.G. & Lescar, J., 2015. The flavivirus NS2B–NS3 protease–helicase as a
target for antiviral drug development. Antiviral research, 118, pp.148-58.
Moll , J., 2020. The Differences Between Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats. [Online]
Available at: https://www.verywellhealth.com/monounsaturated-and-polyunsaturated-fats-
differences-697740 [Accessed 19 April 2020].
Willett, W.C., 2012. Dietary fats and coronary heart disease. Journal of internal medicine,
272(1), pp.13-24.