11262 - Chemistry of the Macromolecules

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the students are expected to gain some general knowledge on polymer chemistry and some more in-depth knowledge on the chemical structure of the principal classes of biological macromolecules, including nucleic acids, peptides and proteins, polysaccharides, lipids. Knowledge will be gained on the general concepts of protein structure and folding, including topics such as enzyme function and allosteric control; on the structure of the nucleic acids double helices and the alternative structures; on the assembly of lipids. Some in-depth knowledge will be gained on macromolecules of interest to the other courses that are part of this integrated course.

Course contents

• The chemical bond: intermolecular forces and chemical bonds. Introduction to elecrostatic interactions, hydrogen bonds, van der Waals interaction. The role of water.
• Base concepts on macromolecules: monomers, functionality, repeating unit, homopolymer, copolymer, linear, branched and cross-linked chains. Polymerization reactions. Copolymerization. Molecular weight distributions. Physical properties of polymers. The behavior of polymers. Molecular models.
• Aminoacids, peptides, proteins: Aminoacids and their properties, the peptidic bond, The primary structure of proteins. The secondary structure of proteins, The tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins. Protein folding. Examples of protein structures, fibrous and globular proteins. Notes on protein function.
• Nucleic acids: Nucleotides and nucleosides. Phosphodiester bond. DNA and RNA. Structure of nucleic acids. Helices and their properties.
• Lipids: general concepts and structures. Structures based on lipids (micelles, liposomes, membranes).
• Polysaccharides: structure and properties of starch, glycogen, cellulose. Biomolecules conjugated with saccharides.
• Introduction to the experimental techniques for the characterization of macromolecules: brief presentation of: Spectroscopy, Electrophoresis, Chromatography, Chrystallography, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Ultamicroscopic techniques, Sequencing of macromolecules, Laboratory synthesis of peptides and oligonucleotides.
  

Readings/Bibliography

Book chapters and monographs will be given to students as additional material together with the course slides. To support their study, students will be able to use the relevant chapters of the book " Biochemistry", by M.K. Campbell, S.O.Farrell, second edition, EdiSES publisher.

Teaching methods

The course in made of lectures in class. The main princiles of the course topics will be presented by the instructor, while further readings and completion of some topics will be left to the individual study.

Assessment methods

The final written test will try to assess the comprehension of all the course topics. Some oral questions might stem from the contents of the written test.

Teaching tools

Course website with the syllabus, the slides showed in class and additional information. http://biocfarm.unibo.it/samori/bioch_IF.html

Links to further information

http://www.biocfarm.unibo.it/samori/bioch_IF.html

Office hours

See the website of Giampaolo Zuccheri