CHEMISTRY OF NATURAL SUBSTANCES
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2017/2018
- Teacher
- CLAUDIO TRAPELLA
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- CHIM/06
Training objectives
- Training objectives
The main objective of the course is to give students in-depth knowledge in terms of the chemistry of natural organic substances, with particular attention to their classification, structure, properties and biosynthesis.
The main knowledge gained will be:
- Structure, properties and function of heterocyclic compounds
- Structure, properties and function of carbohydrates
- Structure, properties and function of lipids
- Structure, properties and function of the amino acids
- Structure, properties and function of proteins
- Structure, properties and function of nucleic acids
- Structure, properties and function of the alkaloids
- Structure, properties and function of enzymes
- Biosynthesis of the main classes of natural substances
The main skills (the ability to apply knowledge acquired) will be:
- Recognize and classify natural substances
- Predict the physical and chemical properties according to the molecular structure Prerequisites
- Prerequisites
You must have acquired and assimilated the following knowledge provided by the courses of Organic Chemistry:
- Properties of the main classes of compounds monofunctional
- Concepts of stereochemistry,
- Major organic reactions and their mechanisms. Course programme
- Course programme
The course includes 48 hours of The course includes 48 hours of lectures
Bioenergetics (4 hours)
Biogenetic pathways. Production of primary and secondary metabolites.
Aminoacids and sugars (6 hours)
Cahracteristics and reactivity of aminoacids and sugars with particular focus on the stereochemistry aspects.
Carbohydrates (6 hours)
Carbohydrates: characteristics and reactivity. Monosaccharides: glucose, fructose, arabinose and xylose. Disaccharides: maltose, cellobiose, sucrose, galactose. Polysaccharides: starch and cellulose. Glycosides and N-glycosides. Amino sugars and deoxysugars.
The main organic reactions involved in the biosynthesis: Claisen reaction, aldol reaction, michael reaction and Mannich reaction, mechanism and reactivity. (6 hours)
Biosynthetic pathways (26 hours)
The acetate pathway, biosynthesis of fatty acids and polyketides, prostaglandins and THC. (4hours)
The shikimic acid pathway, biosynthesis of aromatic aminoacids and phenylpropanoids. (6 hours).
The mevalonic acid pathway, biosynthesis of terpenes and steroids (10hours).
Alkaloids: biosynthesis of tropane and pyrimidine nucleus, nicotinic acid, cocain and nicotine. (6 hours). Didactic methods
- Didactic methods
The course includes lectures on all topics of the course and working groups on specific topics. Learning assessment procedures
- Learning assessment procedures
The aim of the examination is to test the level of achievement of learning objectives previously indicated.
The oral examination of about 30/40 minutes consist in 4 questions:
1) Characteristics and reactivty of sugars and aminoacids
2) Reaction mechanisms of the main organic reaction involved in the biosynthetic pathways
3) One of the biosynthetic pathways for the natural product synthesis
4) Terpenes
Every questions will be evaluated with a maximum of 7 points, 2 more points will be gained depending on the chemical language used by the students. Reference texts
- Reference texts
Teacher’s handout.
Specific topics can be further developed in the following texts:
P.M. Dewick - Chimica, Biosintesi e Bioattività delle Sostanze Naturali- Ed. Piccin
