What Is Cellular Respiration?

The general equation for cellular respiration is ${\mathrm C}_6{\mathrm H}_{12}{\mathrm O}_6\;+\;6{\mathrm O}_2\;\rightarrow\;6{\mathrm{CO}}_2\;+\;{\mathrm H}_2\mathrm O$ . The reactants, on the left side of the chemical equation, are substances that go into the cell. These reactants are oxygen and glucose. Humans gain oxygen from inhalation of air and glucose from food consumption. The products, on the right side of the chemical equation, are materials produced by the cell. These products are carbon dioxide, water, and energy in the form of ATP. In humans, carbon dioxide moves out of the cell and is carried by the blood. While in circulation, carbon dioxide molecules travel to the lungs, where they are exhaled from the body. Cells store the ATP for future use. Although the chemical equation for cellular respiration does not seem complex, there are multiple processes required for this reaction to proceed to completion.
Most of the chemical processes involved in cellular respiration include oxidation reactions and reduction reactions. An oxidation reaction is a reaction that involves the removal of an electron from a compound. (An electron is a negatively charged subatomic particle that moves in orbitals around the atomic nucleus and a compound is a substance made of atoms of two or more elements bonded together in a certain ratio.) A reduction reaction involves the addition of this electron to a compound. It is helpful to remember the function of these reaction pairs using the acronym LEO GER ("LEO the lion goes GER"); LEO stands for "loses electrons oxidized," and GER stands for "gains electrons reduced." This reaction involving the transfer of electrons between two atoms or molecules is called a redox reaction. Oxidation and reduction reactions always occur together.

Cellular respiration is a series of redox reactions, which involve the transfer of negatively charged particles, called electrons, by molecules called electron carriers. The principle electron carriers include nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which is derived from a vitamin B molecule called niacin, and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), which is derived from a vitamin B molecule called riboflavin.

Enzymes are used in cellular respiration to catalyze (cause or accelerate) reactions. A coenzyme is a non-protein molecule, such as NAD and FAD, that helps an enzyme function. When NADH is oxidized, it is converted into NAD⁺. The reduced form of NAD⁺ is NADH. This is because NAD⁺ has accepted two electrons and a positively charged particle called a proton (hydrogen ion), where the proton is the equivalent of a hydrogen atom attached to NAD⁺. Thus, NAD⁺ can oxidize a metabolite (a substance that is formed during metabolism, or required for metabolic processes) by accepting electrons and converting to NADH. NADH can reduce a metabolite by giving up those electrons and converting from NADH back to NAD⁺. Since NAD⁺ is present in the cell, this molecule can participate in redox reactions over and over again. FAD is another coenzyme that can be used by the cell in place of NAD under some conditions. FAD drives oxidation-reduction reactions by accepting two protons to become FADH₂.