Biological Chemistry

Catalog description

Fundamentals of Biochemistry for Chemists. Students cannot receive credit for both CHEM 476 and BMB 401 . CHEM 476 Biological Chemistry (3) This course is designed to be an introduction to biological chemistry from a chemistry student's perspective. The course will cover the basics of protein, nucleic acid, lipid and carbohydrate structure. The three-dimensional structural aspects of these biological macromolecules will be emphasized, showing their structure-function relationships. The course will also cover some of the chemical logic in enzymatic reactions, drawing from advanced organic and inorganic chemistry concepts, and include a focus on physical processes such as reaction kinetics and binding equilibria. More advanced topics of interest to chemistry students will also be covered, including the biochemical aspects of drug design and discovery. Throughout, the approach will be to introduce the analytical tools that have led to major advances in biochemistry as well as the physical and chemical principles underlying each topic. The course will follow a textbook designed for chemistry students. It will also include reading assignments of several types, including historical papers and current scientific literature dealing with recent advances in the field. The course also includes assignments that require students to familiarize themselves with modern biochemical databases such as those from the National Center for Biotechnology Information.