BIOCHEMISTRY I
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2017/2018
- Teacher
- CARLO MISCHIATI
- Credits
- 4
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/10
Training objectives
- The course topics are intended to promote the acquisition of basic principles of chemistry and biochemistry. The student will understand the characteristics and properties of the nature of living matter in the most intimate detail, from the structure of the atom to that of the molecules, learning to recognize functional groups within organic molecules and to describe the structure of the constituents of living matter, such as amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, and the protein structures.
Prerequisites
- Knowledge of cell biology
Course programme
- Basics of General Chemistry (1 CFU). Atom: constituents, quantum numbers, orbital. Periodic table: external electronic structure, electronegativity. Basics of chemical nomenclature and characteristics of some elements. Nucleo: main types of radiation, half-life and use of radioisotopes. Chemical bonds: ionic, covalent, hydrogen and Van der Waals. Law of Gas: laws of Boyle and applicative issues; Equation of State of Ideal Gas. liquid, vapor and solid state. Solutions: concentration measurement, solubility of gases in liquids and colligative properties. Chemical reactions: reaction rate, activation energy and catalysts. Chemical equilibrium: Le Chatelier's principle and the law of mass action. Acids, bases and salts: pH, pK, the buffer systems, salt hydrolysis; importance of ions in the human body chemistry. The water. osmotic pressure: hypo- and hyperosmotic solution, isotonic solution, saline and osmolarity. Chemical thermodynamics: Internal Energy, Enthalpy, Entropy and Free Energy; spontaneity of reactions.
General Principles of Organic Chemistry (1 CFU). Carbon: properties and hybridizations. Isomerism, electron delocalization. The functional groups (nomenclature and main reactions): saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, alkyl halides, alcohols, carboxylic acids, ethers, aldehydes and ketones, acyl derivatives, esters, amines, amides and carbamate bond. Benzene and heterocyclic derivatives.
Introductory Biochemistry (2cfu). Structure for energy and nucleotide co-enzymes. Structure of proteins. Amino acids and proteins: stereochemical properties and acid-base properties of amino acids; the peptide bond and polypeptide chains; the disulfide bond; proteins and primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures; mechanisms of folding; denaturation and refolding of proteins; the active site of enzymes. Sugars: chemical nature and stereoisomerism of monosaccharides; cyclic structures and mutarotation; the glycoside bond; disaccharides; homopolysaccharide; heteropolysaccharides; biological importance of sugars; processes of synthesis and degradation of glycogen. Lipids: fatty acids; mono-, di- and triglycerides; phosphoglycerides and sphingolipids; notes on the structure of cell membranes; cholesterol, its esters and its derivatives; basis on their importance in human physiology. Didactic methods
- Lectures
Learning assessment procedures
- During the lessons the teacher checks students submit snapshots through simple questions, to know the level of learning achieved and individual communication skills. At the end of the lessons, students are invited to take a written test to check their preparation.
Reference texts
- I principi di biochimica di Lehninger. Nelson DL, Cox MM. Zanichelli
The student will have a pdf file with all the slides projected during lectures and in-depth handouts of specific topics provided by the teacher.
