Learning objectives
The module 'Propaedeutic Biochemistry', is part of the integrated course 'Propaedeutic Chemistry Biochemistry'. The main objective of the course is to provide the student with the fundamentals of organic chemistry in view of the subsequent course of Veterinary Biochemistry. The course will start from the different hybridization states of the carbon atom, and its ability to form complex compounds through covalent bonds with other atoms and/or substituents. The structures, chemical and physical properties, and reactivity of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, amines, carboxylic acids and their derivatives will then be subjects of the course. A further chapter will concern the isomers of molecules of organic molecules (conformational, geometric and optical isomers). Particular emphasis will be given to the intermolecular forces (dipole-dipole interactions, Van Der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds) that are responsible for the aggregation of both organic and biological matter, and for the stabilization of the conformations of the structure of macromolecules.
With regard to the expected learning outcomes, the student should be able to:
1. acquire knowledge of organic molecules and of their properties, in order to understand the structural and functional complexity that can be obtained in compounds based on the carbon atom.
2. show autonomy of judgment, demonstrating the comprehension of the subjects of the course, as well as the ability to integrate them with each other.
3. demonstrate to be able to communicate clearly what he studied, using the appropriate language of the subject. The student must be able to expose the learned contents in a logical and appropriate manner to the interlocutors.
4. to connect the knowledges learned in the present module with those acquired in the other courses, developing skills to apply what has been learned in an organic way (translating the knowledge from the molecular to the cellular, to the systemic).