Learning objectives
The course has as its formative objective to provide a basic knowledge in general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry, to enable the students to understand the chemical bases of life, the structural and functional principles of molecules of biological interest; the metabolic pathways, their connexions and regulations.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
Fundamental of general inorganic chemistry.
Organic chemistry: functional groups and their reactivity.
Macromolecules: amminoacids and proteins; carbohydrates; lipids.
Metabolism.
Full programme
i) Chemistry prerequisites:
-Elements and compounds. Composition of the atom: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Atomic number and mass number. Isotopes. Ions: cations and anions.
-The periodic table and the electron configuration for elements with biological interest.
-Electronegativity and chemical bonding. Ionic bonding and covalent bonding. Pure covalent bond and polarized covalent bond. Polar molecules. Valence and oxidation number.
-Fundamentals of inorganic chemistry: naming and writing formulas of simple common compounds
(oxides, acids, salts..)
-Aqueous solutions. Concentration units : molarity and percent fraction.
ii) Program
-Water : chemical and physical properties. Water as a solvent: weak interactions in aqueous solutions. Dipole-dipole intermolecular interactions, hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals bond.
Osmosis. Water ionization. Acids and bases. pH. Buffer solutions and their biological significance.
Organic chemistry
Iintroduction. Hydrocarbons and functional groups with biological interest. Naming and writing formulas of simple organic compounds. Isomerism.
Types of reactions in biochemistry.
Structure and function of macromolecules:
a)amminoacids as structural units of proteins. Peptidic bond and protein structure. Structure-function relationship: mioglobin and hemoglobin. Enzymes, coenzymes and cofactors.
b) Carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
c) Lipids: fatty acids, tryglicerides and phospholipids.
Introduction to metabolism. Catabolism. Anabolism. General aspects of metabolism regulation.
BIOENERGETICS
Energy production and energy storage in the living cell. Some basic principles of bioenergetics. High-energy compounds. ATP.
Cellular respiration and carbohydrates metabolism.
The fatty acid beta-oxidation.
Bibliography
M.SAMAJA-R.PARONI,
"CHIMICA E BIOCHIMICA per le lauree triennali dell'area biomedica".Ed. Piccin Nuova Libraria s.p.a. Padova.
Teaching methods
Classroom lectures
Assessment methods and criteria
Written and oral examination
Other information
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