IChO 2004 · Theory problem 5

Biochemistry with Thermodynamics

Figure 1

Structure of \(\ce{ATP^{4-}}\)

Shifting chemical equilibria with ATP:

Animals use free energy from the oxidation of their food to maintain concentrations of ATP, ADP, and phosphate far from equilibrium. In red blood cells the following concentrations have been measured:

\[ \begin{aligned} c(\ce{ATP^{4-}})&=2.25\ \mathrm{mmol\,dm^{-3}}\\ c(\ce{ADP^{3-}})&=0.25\ \mathrm{mmol\,dm^{-3}}\\ c(\ce{HPO4^{2-}})&=1.65\ \mathrm{mmol\,dm^{-3}} \end{aligned} \]

Free energy stored in ATP can be released according to the following reaction:

Figure 2

As the pH is close to 7 in most living cells, biochemists use \(\Delta G^{\circ\prime}\) instead of \(\Delta G^\circ\). The standard state of \(\Delta G^{\circ\prime}\) is defined as having a constant pH of 7. In equations with \(\Delta G^{\circ\prime}\) and \(K'\) for reactions at \(pH=7\) the concentration of \(\ce{H+}\) is therefore omitted. Standard concentration is \(1\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}\).

5.1 Calculate the actual \(\Delta G'\) of reaction (1) in the red blood cell at \(25\ ^\circ\mathrm{C}\) and \(pH=7\).

In living cells many so-called “anabolic” reactions take place, which are at first sight thermodynamically unfavourable because of a positive \(\Delta G\). The phosphorylation of glucose is an example:

Figure 3

5.2 Calculate first the equilibrium constant \(K'\) of reaction (2) and then the ratio \(c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})/c(\text{glucose})\) in the red blood cell in chemical equilibrium at \(25\ ^\circ\mathrm{C}\) and \(pH=7\).

To shift the equilibrium to a higher concentration of glucose 6-phosphate, reaction (2) is coupled with hydrolysis of ATP:

Figure 4

5.3 Calculate \(\Delta G^{\circ\prime}\) and \(K'\) of reaction (3).

What is now the ratio \(c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})/c(\text{glucose})\) in the red blood cell in chemical equilibrium at \(25\ ^\circ\mathrm{C}\) and \(pH=7\)?

ATP synthesis:

An adult person ingests about \(8000\ \mathrm{kJ}\) of energy \((\Delta G')\) per day with the food.

5.4 a) What will be the mass of ATP that is produced per day if half of this energy is used for ATP synthesis? Assume a \(\Delta G'\) of \(-52\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}\) for reaction (1), and a molecular weight of \(503\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}\) for ATP.

b) What mass of ATP does the human body contain on average if the mean lifetime of an ATP molecule until its hydrolysis is \(1\ \mathrm{min}\)?

c) What happens to the rest of the free energy, which is not used for ATP synthesis? Mark on the answer sheet.

In animals the energy obtained by the oxidation of food is used to pump protons out of specialized membrane vesicles, the mitochondria. ATP-synthase, an enzyme, will allow protons to re-enter the mitochondria if ATP is simultaneously synthesized from ADP and phosphate.

5.5 a) How many protons \((\ce{H+})\) are in a spherical mitochondrium with a diameter of \(1\ \mathrm{\mu m}\) at \(pH=7\)?

b) How many protons have to enter into each of the 1000 mitochondria of a liver cell via the ATP-synthase to allow the production of a mass of \(0.2\ \mathrm{fg}\) of ATP per cell? Assume that 3 protons have to enter for the synthesis of 1 molecule of ATP.

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 5.1: \(\Delta G'=-51.8\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}\).
  • 5.2: \(K'_2=3.82\times10^{-3}\); \(c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})/c(\text{glucose})=6.31\times10^{-6}\).
  • 5.3: \(\Delta G_3^{\circ\prime}=-16.7\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}\); \(K'_3=8.43\times10^2\); \(c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})/c(\text{glucose})\approx7.6\times10^3\).
  • 5.4(a): Approximately \(39\ \mathrm{kg}\) of ATP produced per day.
  • 5.4(b): Approximately \(27\ \mathrm{g}\) of ATP present on average.
  • 5.4(c): The remaining energy is dissipated as heat.
  • 5.5(a): Approximately 32 free protons per mitochondrion.
  • 5.5(b): Approximately \(7.2\times10^2\) protons must enter each mitochondrion.

Solution

Use \[ T=298.15\ \mathrm K,\qquad R=8.314\ \mathrm{J\,mol^{-1}\,K^{-1}},\qquad N_{\mathrm A}=6.022\times10^{23}\ \mathrm{mol^{-1}}. \]

Activities are approximated by \(a_i=c_i/c^\circ\), with \(c^\circ=1\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}\); water has unit activity. At the fixed pH of 7, the proton activity is already incorporated into the primed thermodynamic quantities.

The chemical species used below have the following structural representations. The glucose SMILES show open-chain D forms, avoiding an arbitrary choice of anomer.

Species SMILES
Adenosine 5′-triphosphate(4−), \(\ce{ATP^{4-}}\) Nc1ncnc2c1ncn2[C@@H]1O[C@H](COP(=O)([O-])OP(=O)([O-])OP(=O)([O-])[O-])[C@@H](O)[C@H]1O
Adenosine 5′-diphosphate(3−), \(\ce{ADP^{3-}}\) Nc1ncnc2c1ncn2[C@@H]1O[C@H](COP(=O)([O-])OP(=O)([O-])[O-])[C@@H](O)[C@H]1O
Hydrogen phosphate, \(\ce{HPO4^{2-}}\) O=P([O-])([O-])O
D-Glucose, \(\ce{C6H12O6}\) O=C[C@H](O)[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H](O)CO
D-Glucose 6-phosphate(2−), \(\ce{C6H11O9P^{2-}}\) O=C[C@H](O)[C@@H](O)[C@H](O)[C@H](O)COP(=O)([O-])[O-]
Water, \(\ce{H2O}\) O
Proton, \(\ce{H+}\) [H+]

5.1 — Actual free energy of ATP hydrolysis

Reaction (1) is \[ \ce{ATP^{4-} + H2O <=> ADP^{3-} + HPO4^{2-} + H+}. \]

Its transformed reaction quotient is \[ Q'_1= \frac{\bigl[c(\ce{ADP^{3-}})/c^\circ\bigr] \bigl[c(\ce{HPO4^{2-}})/c^\circ\bigr]} {c(\ce{ATP^{4-}})/c^\circ}. \]

Converting the supplied concentrations to \(\mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}\), \[ Q'_1= \frac{(0.25\times10^{-3})(1.65\times10^{-3})} {2.25\times10^{-3}} =1.833\times10^{-4}. \]

Therefore, \[ \begin{aligned} \Delta G'_1 &=\Delta G_1^{\circ\prime}+RT\ln Q'_1\\ &=-30.5+ (8.314\times10^{-3})(298.15)\ln(1.833\times10^{-4})\\ &=\boxed{-51.8\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}}. \end{aligned} \]

5.2 — Uncoupled glucose phosphorylation

Reaction (2), written with molecular formulas, is \[ \ce{C6H12O6 + HPO4^{2-} <=> C6H11O9P^{2-} + H2O}. \]

The standard free energy gives \[ \Delta G_2^{\circ\prime}=-RT\ln K'_2, \] so \[ K'_2= \exp\!\left(-\frac{13800}{8.314\times298.15}\right) =\boxed{3.82\times10^{-3}}. \]

This is a dimensionless equilibrium constant: \[ K'_2= \frac{c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})/c^\circ} {\bigl[c(\text{glucose})/c^\circ\bigr] \bigl[c(\ce{HPO4^{2-}})/c^\circ\bigr]}. \]

At the supplied phosphate concentration, \[ \begin{aligned} \frac{c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})}{c(\text{glucose})} &=K'_2\frac{c(\ce{HPO4^{2-}})}{c^\circ}\\ &=(3.821\times10^{-3})(1.65\times10^{-3})\\ &=\boxed{6.31\times10^{-6}}. \end{aligned} \]

Thus the equilibrium strongly favours unphosphorylated glucose under these conditions.

5.3 — Glucose phosphorylation coupled to ATP hydrolysis

Adding reactions (1) and (2) cancels water and hydrogen phosphate. The resulting hexokinase-catalysed reaction is \[ \ce{C6H12O6 + ATP^{4-} <=> C6H11O9P^{2-} + ADP^{3-} + H+}. \]

Standard reaction free energies are additive: \[ \begin{aligned} \Delta G_3^{\circ\prime} &=\Delta G_1^{\circ\prime}+\Delta G_2^{\circ\prime}\\ &=-30.5+13.8\\ &=\boxed{-16.7\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}}. \end{aligned} \]

Consequently, \[ K'_3= \exp\!\left(\frac{16700}{8.314\times298.15}\right) =\boxed{8.43\times10^2}. \]

At fixed pH, \[ K'_3= \frac{c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})\,c(\ce{ADP^{3-}})} {c(\text{glucose})\,c(\ce{ATP^{4-}})}. \]

Hence \[ \begin{aligned} \frac{c(\text{glucose 6-phosphate})}{c(\text{glucose})} &=K'_3\frac{c(\ce{ATP^{4-}})}{c(\ce{ADP^{3-}})}\\ &=(8.431\times10^2)\frac{2.25}{0.25}\\ &=7.588\times10^3\\ &\approx\boxed{7.6\times10^3}. \end{aligned} \]

These ratios describe equilibrium of the specified reaction with the supplied metabolite concentrations maintained. Coupling changes the net reaction and its free energy; hexokinase catalyses that reaction without changing its equilibrium constant.

5.4(a) — Daily ATP production

ATP synthesis reverses reaction (1): \[ \ce{ADP^{3-} + HPO4^{2-} + H+ -> ATP^{4-} + H2O}. \]

Its assumed free-energy requirement is therefore \[ \Delta G'_{\text{synthesis}}=+52\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}. \]

The daily energy allocated to synthesis is \[ E_{\text{synthesis}}=\frac{8000}{2}=4000\ \mathrm{kJ}. \]

Thus \[ n_{\text{ATP, daily}} =\frac{4000\ \mathrm{kJ}}{52\ \mathrm{kJ\,mol^{-1}}} =76.9\ \mathrm{mol}, \] and \[ \begin{aligned} m_{\text{ATP, daily}} &=(76.9\ \mathrm{mol})(503\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}})\\ &=3.87\times10^4\ \mathrm g\\ &\approx\boxed{39\ \mathrm{kg}}. \end{aligned} \]

This is the mass synthesized through repeated turnover during one day.

5.4(b) — Average ATP mass in the body

At steady state, the average amount present equals the production rate multiplied by the mean lifetime: \[ m_{\text{pool}}=\dot m_{\text{synthesis}}\tau. \]

Since one day contains \(1440\ \mathrm{min}\), \[ m_{\text{pool}} =\frac{3.869\times10^4\ \mathrm g}{1440\ \mathrm{min}} (1\ \mathrm{min}) =26.9\ \mathrm g \approx\boxed{27\ \mathrm g}. \]

5.4(c) — Fate of the remaining free energy

The remaining energy, about \(4000\ \mathrm{kJ}\) per day in this model, is dissipated as heat, contributing to maintenance of body temperature. This is the answer to select on the missing answer sheet.

5.5(a) — Free protons inside one mitochondrion

At pH 7, \[ c(\ce{H+})=10^{-7}\ \mathrm{mol\,dm^{-3}}. \]

The radius is \[ r=\frac{1\ \mathrm{\mu m}}{2}=5.0\times10^{-7}\ \mathrm m. \]

The spherical volume is \[ \begin{aligned} V&=\frac{4\pi r^3}{3}\\ &=\frac{4\pi}{3}(5.0\times10^{-7}\ \mathrm m)^3\\ &=5.236\times10^{-19}\ \mathrm{m^3}\\ &=5.236\times10^{-16}\ \mathrm{dm^3}. \end{aligned} \]

The mean number of free protons is \[ \begin{aligned} N(\ce{H+}) &=c(\ce{H+})VN_{\mathrm A}\\ &=(10^{-7})(5.236\times10^{-16})(6.022\times10^{23})\\ &=31.5. \end{aligned} \]

Thus there are approximately \[ \boxed{32\ \text{free protons per mitochondrion}} \] on average.

5.5(b) — Proton entry required for ATP production

The ATP mass produced per cell is \[ 0.2\ \mathrm{fg}=0.2\times10^{-15}\ \mathrm g. \]

The corresponding number of ATP molecules is \[ N_{\text{ATP, cell}} =\frac{0.2\times10^{-15}\ \mathrm g} {503\ \mathrm{g\,mol^{-1}}} (6.022\times10^{23}\ \mathrm{mol^{-1}}) =2.394\times10^5. \]

Each molecule requires entry of three protons. Distributing the production equally among 1000 mitochondria gives \[ \begin{aligned} N_{\text{protons, each}} &=\frac{3N_{\text{ATP, cell}}}{1000}\\ &=\frac{3(2.394\times10^5)}{1000}\\ &=7.18\times10^2\\ &\approx\boxed{7.2\times10^2\ \text{protons}}. \end{aligned} \]

This is cumulative proton entry during ATP production. Proton pumping and buffering make it compatible with the small instantaneous free-proton population calculated in 5.5(a).

The solution was checked against the official solution.