The "high Energy" Phosphate Bond
The energy released in ATP hydrolysis,
- ATP4- + H2O → ADP3- + Pi-
at ΔG -36.8 kJ mol−1 is large by biological standards. Pi stands for inorganic phosphate, which is protonated at biological pH. However, it is not large by inorganic standards. The term "high energy" refers to the fact that it is high relative to the amount of energy released in the organic chemical reactions that can occur in living systems.
Read more about this topic: Polyphosphate
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