Читать книгу Astrobiology - Charles S. Cockell - Страница 39

With this knowledge of atoms and ions, we now consider how they bond together to construct molecules and ultimately large, complex molecules or macromolecules, such as the genetic material DNA, that make up life.

There are five basic types of bonding that hold atoms and molecules together to give rise to the structure of ordinary matter, including life. We consider each of these in this chapter:

 ionic bonding,

 covalent bonding,

 metallic bonding,

 van der Waals interactions, and

 hydrogen bonding.

The first three of these types of bonding are primarily involved in holding atoms together to make molecules, although ionic and covalent bonds also play prominent roles in holding parts of whole molecules together to generate three-dimensional structures. The last two types of bonding, van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding, are primarily involved in mediating interactions between individual molecules. Let's have a look at some of the features of these bonds and, in particular, how they are used in life.