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13 lut 2023 · The process of ATP hydrolysis to ADP is energetically favorable, yielding Gibbs-free energy of -7.3 cal/mol. ATP must continuously undergo replenishment to fuel the ever-working cell. The routine intracellular concentration of ATP is 1 to 10 uM. [2]
ATP is able to power cellular processes by transferring a phosphate group to another molecule (a process called phosphorylation). This transfer is carried out by special enzymes that couple the release of energy from ATP to cellular activities that require energy.
Cells couple the exergonic reaction of ATP hydrolysis to whatever work needs to be done. One example of energy coupling using ATP is the sodium-potassium pump (Na + /K + pump), which drives sodium out of the cell and potassium into the cell.
The cell can use an enzyme called ATP synthase to reattach a phosphate back onto ADP (adenosine diphosphate) to reform ATP. For this exercise we will look at the cyclic nature of ATP. Lisawerner9, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
These organelles replicate by dividing in two, using a process similar to the simple, asexual form of cell division employed by bacteria.
The energy released from the hydrolysis of ATP into ADP + P i is used to perform cellular work. Cells use ATP to perform work by coupling the exergonic reaction of ATP hydrolysis with endergonic reactions. ATP donates its phosphate group to another molecule via a process known as phosphorylation.
This single molecule can power a motor protein that makes a muscle cell contract, a transport protein that makes a nerve cell fire, a ribosome (the molecular machine that can build these and other proteins), and much more. ATP is often called the cell’s “energy currency.”
