D0118 - CHIMICA E PROPEDEUTICA BIOCHIMICA (C)

Learning outcomes

The course in Chemistry and Introductory Biochemistry provides students with the fundamental knowledge necessary to understand the basic principles governing matter and its transformations, with particular emphasis on biological processes at the atomic and molecular levels and their relevance to biomedical sciences. The course is structured into teaching units, and the specific learning outcomes for each unit will be described and regularly updated in the online Course Guide, in accordance with the guidelines of the Italian Ministry of University and Research.

Course contents

Teaching Unit 1. Atomic structure, chemical bonding, states of matter, and thermodynamics of open systems (1 ECTS credit equivalent)

Students will describe and interpret:

• The constitution of matter. Fundamentals of atomic theory. Atomic structure: protons, neutrons, and electrons. Atomic number and mass number. Isotopes. Basic principles of nuclear magnetic properties as the foundation of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) diagnostic imaging.

• Quantum numbers, atomic orbitals, the Pauli exclusion principle, Hund's rule, and electronic configuration, with particular reference to the elements most abundant in living organisms.

• The periodic table of the elements. Periodic properties: valence electron configuration, atomic radius, ionization energy, electron affinity, electronegativity, and the octet rule.

• Molecules, ions, and polyatomic ions. Molecular mass. The mole and Avogadro's number. Atomic mass unit and molecular mass.

• Chemical bonding. Bond orbitals. Covalent bonding (non-polar, polar, and coordinate covalent bonds). Basic concepts of metallic bonding. Ionic bonding. Orbital hybridization (sp, sp², sp³). Sigma (σ) and pi (π) molecular orbitals. Bond length and bond energy. Bond angles and molecular geometry. Examples of biologically relevant polar and non-polar molecules.

• Weak intermolecular interactions (hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces) and hydrophobic interactions.

• Oxidation number. Structural formulas and nomenclature of biologically relevant binary and ternary compounds containing carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus (oxides, hydroxides, peroxides, acids, bases, and salts).

• Basic concepts of the solid state: ionic, molecular, covalent, and metallic solids.

• The gaseous state. Absolute temperature. Boyle's, Charles's, and Gay-Lussac's laws. Application of gas laws to respiration. Ideal gas equation. Fundamentals of the kinetic theory of gases and the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution.

• The liquid state: boiling point, heat of vaporization, surface tension, gas-liquid equilibrium, and vapor pressure. Comparison of the phase diagrams of water and carbon dioxide. Biomedical relevance of phase changes, including sweat evaporation and thermoregulation.

• Principles of thermodynamics and bioenergetics. State functions. Enthalpy. Exothermic and endothermic transformations. Entropy. Gibbs free energy. Exergonic and endergonic processes. Free energy changes as criteria for spontaneity and equilibrium in open systems.

Teaching Unit 2. Mixtures, solutions, and colligative properties of solutions (1 ECTS credit equivalent)

Students will describe and interpret:

• Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures of biological interest: solutions, suspensions, colloids, and aerosols.

• Gaseous, liquid, and solid solutions.

• Water as a polar solvent. Solubility of ionic and non-ionic solutes. Properties of electrolytes. Electrolytes in biological fluids. Gas solubility in liquids and Henry's law.

• Units of concentration: mass/mass, mass/volume, and volume/volume percentages; molarity, molality, and mole fraction. Basic concepts of non-ideal solutions, intracellular solute behavior, activity coefficients, and the concept of equivalents in biomedicine.

• Gas mixtures and Dalton's law. Composition of atmospheric air, inspired air, and expired air.

• Colligative properties of solutions. Solvent-solute interactions. Raoult's law. Vapor pressure lowering, boiling point elevation, freezing point depression, osmotic pressure, and solute transport across membranes.

• Electrolyte solutions and the van't Hoff correction factor. Diffusion, osmosis, osmolarity, and osmolality. Comparison of osmotic properties of solutions.

• Osmotic pressure of intracellular and extracellular fluids. Isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic solutions. Physiological saline and glucose solutions. Physiopathological consequences of osmotic imbalance, including hemolysis and edema.

Teaching Unit 3. Chemical reactions in living organisms: general principles, chemical kinetics, and chemical equilibrium (0.5 ECTS credit equivalent)

Students will describe and interpret:

• Chemical reactions. Conservation of mass, energy, and electric charge. Balancing chemical equations.

• Reaction kinetics. Multi-step reactions. Factors affecting reaction rates. Reaction order and molecularity. Arrhenius equation, collision theory, activation energy, and transition-state theory.

• Catalysts and an introduction to biological catalysts (enzymes).

• Chemical equilibrium. Reversible and irreversible reactions. Equilibrium constant and the law of mass action. Relationship between Gibbs free energy and equilibrium.

• Difference between chemical equilibrium and steady state. Le Châtelier's principle. Reaction quotient. Temperature dependence of the equilibrium constant. Multiple equilibria. Heterogeneous solid-liquid equilibria (e.g., urate precipitation). Solubility product and common-ion effect. Biomedical examples, including kidney stone formation.

Teaching Unit 4. Acids, bases, salts, pH, buffer solutions, oxidation-reduction reactions, and electrochemistry (1 ECTS credit equivalent)

Students will describe and interpret:

• Arrhenius theory, Brønsted-Lowry theory, and basic concepts of Lewis acid-base theory. Autoprotolysis of water, ionic product of water (Kw), pH and pOH. Acid and base dissociation constants (Ka and Kb), strong and weak acids and bases, pKa and pKb, pH indicators, calculation of pH, polyprotic acids and bases, acid-base reactions, salts, and the acid-base behavior of salts in aqueous solution. Solubility and pH, with biomedical examples including calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, and sodium urate.

• Buffer solutions. Weak acid and weak base buffers. Henderson-Hasselbalch equation. Buffer capacity.

• Acid-base balance in biological fluids. Blood pH and physiological buffer systems, including the carbonic acid/bicarbonate, dihydrogen phosphate/hydrogen phosphate, and protein buffer systems. Biomedical relevance of buffers in acidosis and alkalosis.

• Oxidation-reduction reactions. Galvanic cells. Anode and cathode. Half-reactions and standard reduction potentials. Nernst equation. Relationship between Gibbs free energy and cell potential. Spontaneous reactions and chemical work. Biologically relevant redox reactions. Oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor in cellular respiration. Fenton and Haber-Weiss reactions as examples of non-enzymatic oxygen redox chemistry involving iron ions and hydroxyl radical formation.

Teaching Unit 5. Carbon chemistry and reactivity of organic compounds: hydrocarbons, alkyl halides, aromatic hydrocarbons, and derivatives (0.5 ECTS credit equivalent)

Students will describe and interpret:

• Carbon properties and hybridization. Representation of organic compounds. Saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, cyclic and heterocyclic compounds. General IUPAC nomenclature.

• Stereochemistry: diastereomers, enantiomers, epimers, and racemic mixtures. Basic concepts of priority rules and R/S notation. Specific optical rotation. Dextrorotatory and levorotatory compounds. Fischer projections.

• Homolytic bond cleavage and free radical reactions.

• Heterolytic bond cleavage. Carbocations and carbanions. Inductive effects. Electron delocalization. Biologically relevant nucleophiles and electrophiles. Nucleophilic substitution (SN1 and SN2) and elimination reactions.

• Alkanes and cycloalkanes: structure, nomenclature, physicochemical properties, biomedical relevance, ring strain, and oxidation reactions.

• Alkenes: structure, nomenclature, physicochemical properties, biomedical relevance, conjugated dienes, and electrophilic addition reactions.

• Aromatic hydrocarbons: structure, nomenclature, physicochemical properties, biomedical relevance, benzene, heteroaromatic compounds (pyrimidines), polycyclic aromatic compounds (purines), Hückel's rule, electrophilic aromatic substitution, activating and deactivating substituents, and toxicity of aromatic compounds.

Teaching Unit 6. Functional groups and isomerism: alcohols, phenols, ethers, thiols, thioethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and derivatives, amines, and amides (1 ECTS credit equivalent)

Students will describe and interpret:

• Alcohols and thiols: structure, nomenclature, physicochemical properties, biological relevance, dehydration, oxidation, nucleophilic substitution, ethanol, phenol and its derivatives, biologically relevant alcohols and thiols, ethers, thioethers, and epoxides.

• Amines: structure, nomenclature, physicochemical properties, biomedical relevance, basicity, nucleophilicity, alkylation, salt formation, nitrosamines, choline, and other biologically relevant amines.

• Aldehydes and ketones: structure, nomenclature, physicochemical properties, biological relevance, oxidation, reduction, nucleophilic addition, aldol condensation, hemiacetals, hemiketals, acetals, ketals, imines (Schiff bases), α-hydrogen acidity, keto-enol tautomerism and its biological significance, quinones and hydroquinones, ubiquinone as an electron carrier.

• Carboxylic acids and biologically relevant derivatives (anhydrides, esters, thioesters, amides, and acyl phosphates): structure, nomenclature, physicochemical properties, acidity, salt formation, decarboxylation, nucleophilic acyl substitution, Fischer esterification, ester hydrolysis, transesterification, Claisen condensation, lactone formation, decarboxylation of keto acids, and amide hydrolysis.

Teaching Unit 7. Amino acids and proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleotides, polynucleotides, and nucleic acids (1 ECTS credit equivalent)

Students will describe and interpret:

• Amino acids: structure, nomenclature, abbreviations, classification according to side-chain properties, identification of proteinogenic amino acid side chains, stereochemistry, Fischer projections, acid-base properties, isoelectric point, essential and non-essential amino acids.

• Peptide bond formation and properties. Levels of protein structure: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Weak interactions and disulfide bonds.

• Carbohydrates: structure, nomenclature, stereochemistry, monosaccharides, isomers, epimers, anomers, tautomers, cyclization, mutarotation, oxidation, reduction, Maillard reaction, Amadori products, condensation reactions, glycosidic bonds, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, amino sugars, homopolysaccharides (starch, cellulose, glycogen), and heteropolysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans).

• Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids: structure, nomenclature, physical properties, and reactions. Triglycerides, oils, and fats. Complex lipids: glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, glycolipids. Cholesterol and its biologically relevant derivatives (steroid hormones, bile acids, and vitamin D).

• Nitrogenous bases, nucleosides, and nucleotides: structure, nomenclature, biological role of ATP, and dinucleotides in biological redox reactions (NAD⁺/NADH and FAD/FAD₂).

• Phosphodiester bond and the structure of nucleic acids: DNA and RNA.

• Non-enzymatic modifications of biological macromolecules. Cytosine deamination. Major reactions of hydroxyl radicals with lipids, proteins, and DNA. Non-enzymatic antioxidant activity of thiols (glutathione) and conjugated double-bond compounds (tocopherols and carotenoids).

Readings/Bibliography

Recommended Textbooks (Italian language):

• F.A. Bettelheim et al. Chimica e Propedeutica Biochimica. Edises.
• T. Bellini. Chimica Medica e Propedeutica Biochimica. Zanichelli.
• L. Binaglia, B. Giardina. Chimica e Propedeutica Biochimica. McGraw Hill.
• K.J. Denniston et al. Chimica Generale, Chimica Organica, Propedeutica Biochimica. McGraw Hill.
• S. Marini et al. Chimica e Propedeutica Biochimica. Piccin.

Teaching methods

Lectures will be delivered in accordance with the teaching arrangements specified in the relevant section of the Course catalogue

Assessment methods

In accordance with Ministerial Decree No. 941 of 10 July 2026 and Directoral Decree No. 249 of 13 July 2026, the assessment for each course included in the Open Semester consists of a written examination lasting 50 minutes, comprising 31 questions, structured as follows:

• 21 multiple-choice questions, each with five answer options, of which only one is correct;
• 10 completion-format questions (fill-in-the-blank questions).

The examination is marked according to the following criteria:

• +1 point for each correct answer;
• 0 points for each unanswered question;
• −0.1 points for each incorrect answer.

The examination is passed with a minimum score of 18 points. The maximum score is 31 points.

The examination papers are identical throughout Italy and are administered simultaneously nationwide.

Students are entitled to two examination sessions for each course, scheduled for 10 December at 11:00 a.m. and 11 January 2027 at 11:00 a.m., in accordance with Directoral Decree No. 249 of 13 July 2026.

Teaching tools

Course materials will be made available directly within the Zoom platform used to attend the course.

Office hours

See the website of Michele Di Foggia