Biological chemistry I
Summary
Biochemistry is a key discipline for the Life Sciences. Biological Chemistry I and II are two tightly interconnected courses that aim to describe and understand in molecular terms the processes that make life possible.
Content
In this course we will learn the properties of biological macromolecules at the atomic level in order to understand their function within the cell. We will dissect therefore the basics of macromolecular structure and how it translates into functional molecular mechanisms. Among the major types of biological macromolecules, including nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, we will put a major emphasis on proteins - the workhorses of cells. The content of the course will touch the following topics:
- Building blocks: Sugars, lipids, amino acids, oligonucleotides
- Protein structural organization, folding
- Analysis and visualization of proteins
- Protein expression and purification
- Protein structure determination by experimental and computational methods
- Thermodynamics and kinetics of biomolecules
- Methods to measure protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions
- Enzymatic catalysis and reaction mechanisms
Keywords
proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, structural biology, biochemistry, enzymes, experimental and computational methods, protein folding, biophysics
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
General Biology, Organic chemistry
Recommended courses
Physics I, II, III
Important concepts to start the course
- Basic understanding of chemical matter
- Basic understanding of thermodynamics
- Basic reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Design experimental workflows for biochemical analysis
- Formalize reaction mechanisms of biological macromolecules
- Formulate questions that adress important biological problems
- Integrate diverse sources of data
- Generalize principles applicable to wide variety of biological problems
Transversal skills
- Assess one's own level of skill acquisition, and plan their on-going learning goals.
- Continue to work through difficulties or initial failure to find optimal solutions.
- Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
- Manage priorities.
Teaching methods
- Lectures
- Exercise session accompanying each lecture
- Execises session on bioinformatics and proteins structure visualization tools
Expected student activities
- Attending to classes
- Attendance to exercise
- Class participation
Assessment methods
- written exam
Supervision
| Office hours | Yes |
| Assistants | Yes |
| Forum | Yes |
Resources
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
No
Bibliography
- Kuriyan/Konforti/Wemmer - The Molecules of Life
Ressources en bibliothèque
Moodle Link
In the programs
- Semester: Fall
- Exam form: Written (winter session)
- Subject examined: Biological chemistry I
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Exercises: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: mandatory