Metals in Biology: Structure and Mechanism

Catalog description

The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the many important roles that metal ions play in biological systems (bioinorganic chemistry). We will explore how structural biology, enzymology, spectroscopy, cell biology, and chemical biology methods have been used to understand how metal ions are used in biological molecules. These approaches have enabled discovery of the chemistry of these systems, and an understanding of how that chemistry fits into the broader biological context. We will apply bioinorganic chemistry in solving important challenges in energy, health, and the environment. Course activities include application of basic inorganic chemistry and biochemical principles, discussion of current literature in the biochemical sciences, implementation of biomolecular structure visualization software, and problem solving. At the end of the course, students will be able to critically engage with the bioinorganic literature and propose experimental approaches to unresolved questions in the field.