Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

1. ATP is a nucleotide made up of three parts;

   • a nitrogen-containing organic base
   • A five-carbon sugar (a pentose)
   • one or more phosphate groups

2. ATP is a mononucleotide in which the base is adenine and the sugar ribose

3. The ATP cycle

   • The covalent bond linking the second and third phosphate groups in ATP is unstable. This can easily broken by hydrolysis, causing ATP to become ADP. This is an exergonic reaction because energy is released
   • A condensation reaction allows the resynthesis of ATP from ADP. An enzyme called ATP synthase catalyses the formation of ATP from ADP and a phosphate group