Question

Why is ATP called energy currency of cells?

Answer 1

ATP is known as adenosine triphosphate, and it is a molecule containing carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and phosphorus. ATP is the energy currency of the cell because, it is the most preferred energy molecule in the cell. Its preference is due to the following factors:

1. It donates its phosphoryl groups to release energy.

2. On hydrolysis, it releases a high negative Gibbs free energy which can be used to drive many important biosynthetic reactions in metabolic pathways.

3. The presence of adenine and ribosyl groups provide additional features for attachment to enzymes so it is able to regulate enzymatic activities.