Zellchemien

Zellchemien, or cellular chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within living cells and of the interactions among biomolecules that sustain cellular life. The field combines chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and biophysics to understand how chemical reactions drive biological function.

Core topics include metabolism and energy conversion (such as glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria; and photosynthesis in plant cells), biosynthesis and polymerization (protein synthesis, nucleotide and lipid assembly), redox chemistry and reactive oxygen species, enzyme catalysis and regulation, and membrane chemistry including transport across cellular membranes and signaling at membranes. The chemical properties of biomolecules—proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates—and how these properties enable interactions, catalysis, and networked pathways are central to the discipline. Cellular chemistry also considers compartmentalization within organelles (nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes) and the chemical environment (pH, ions, cofactors).

Methods commonly used in Zellchemien include metabolomics, proteomics, genomics, fluorescence and electron microscopy, spectroscopy, chromatography, and mass spectrometry, as well as computational modeling of chemical reactions and networks. The field supports medicine, drug discovery, biotechnology, and synthetic biology by elucidating how chemical changes influence cellular behavior.

Zellchemien integrates principles from chemistry and biology to explain how energy, matter, and information flow through cells, and how disruptions can lead to disease or be harnessed for therapeutic and industrial applications.