CHEM 583BChemical Biol of Nucleic Acids

Catalog

Chemical Biology of Nucleic Acids The course overviews structure and function of nucleic acids and how these can be modulated using chemical tools. The course starts with introduction of basic chemistry, structure, and biology of DNA and RNA, followed by chemical synthesis and modifications of nucleic acids. The second part of the course expands the basic knowledge to discuss modern state of the art technologies and nucleic acid therapeutics, such as RNA interference, CRISPR, mRNA vaccines, and potential emerging future technologies. Throughout the course strong emphasis is placed on molecular understanding of chemical and biological processes involving DNA and RNA. Class time involves instructor's lectures and discussions of the assigned reading material. The lecture topics are matched to examples from recent literature. This is a graduate level course suitable to advanced undergraduates with basic background in biochemistry and organic chemistry.