BIOCHEMISTRY 1
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Full programme
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
To attend the course the student should have positively passed the medical chemistry exam.
The exam of biochemistry has a single note that is obtained after passing the exam of biochemistry 2. The exam will have to be supported in two separate tests on different dates, the first will focus on the topics of biochemistry 1 and the second will focus on topics of biochemistry 2. The average of the two exams will constitute the final grade. However, in order to take the biochemical 2 exam, the student must have successfully passed the biochemical exam 1.
The exam for the biochemistry module 1 consists of a written test and an oral exam. The written test consists of 30 multiple-choice questions (five possible answers, one or more of which is true and to be identified by the student) regarding the comprehension of the topics covered. The evaluation will be insufficient if the correct answers will be less than 18. The note is not reduced by incorrect answers. The oral exam will be supported only by students who have successfully passed the written exam and will consist of questions related to the written test.
The course aims at providing a complete overview of the structural characteristics and functional properties of the main biomolecules of biomedical interest, to understand the alterations that may cause diseases.
In particular it will be addressed the general characteristics of chemical reactions and the chemical properties of the constituents of living matter and biological macromolecules, including the mechanism of action of enzymes, including the essential elements of clinical trials of medicines. The course will also address the main metabolic pathways, the molecular mechanisms of cellular activity regulation. The scientific basis of medical procedures and the operating principles of the instruments used in diagnostic and therapeutic practice will also be discussed. At the end of the course the student must be able to recognize the potential and the limits of the main cellular and molecular and genetic biology techniques.
The approach is mainly based on the biochemistry point of view.
The properties of living matter and water.
Reserve and structure polysaccharides.
The reserve and structure lipids. Steroids: cholesterol and bile acids.
Peptides. Protein structure. Glycoproteins.
Oxygen transporters: myoglobin and hemoglobin.
Enzymes: properties and enzymatic kinetics. Regulatory enzymes. The water-soluble vitamins and the derived coenzymes.
The fat-soluble vitamins.
The structural organization of biological membranes. Mitochondrial Bioenergetic and molecular basis of mitochondrial diseases.
Main molecular metabolism of sugars, lipids, aminoacids, and hemoglobin.
Water: Weak interactions of acqueous systems, water ionization, weak acids and bases, pH in buffer solutions, water as reagent, Integration of living organisms in water.
Carbohydrates: definitions and classification of aldose and ketoses. Cyclic and Linear molecules. Complex sugars (hexosamine and sialic acid). Disaccharides with biologic relevance (sacarose, maltose, lactose, cellobiose). Structural omopolysaccharides: cellulose; deposit omopolysaccharides.: starch and glycogen. Heteropolysaccharides: glycosaminoglycans.
Proteins: Chemical classification of amino acids. Carboxylic and amino groups reactivity, R and S (D or L) configuration and their biological relevance; Peptidic bond and its chemical-physical characteristics; protein structures: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. Protein function: enzymes and enzymic kinetics, inhibition, covalent and non covalent regulation of enzymes.
Lipids: Simple lipid, fatty acids, classification. Role of double bond in molecular stability. Isomery, Complex lipids: triglycerides, glicerophospholipids, sphingolipids. Biological membrane structure. Cholesterol and its derivates, Glycoproteins, Structural organization of biological membranes, signaling throughout biological membrane: receptors and second messengers.
Oxygen transporters: structural and functional properties of myoglobin and hemoglobin.
Metabolism: Introduction and general concepts; bioenergy, ATP-ADP system as Energy transfer between catabolism and anabolism. Molecular basis of energy content of ATP. Substrate phosphorylation, Energy charge and its role in metabolism regulation, Glucose activation, Glycogen metabolism and its control mechanisms, Glycolysis and its energy balance, Shunt of hexose monophosphate its biological role and regulation, Glycogen metabolism, Oxidative decarboxylation of piruvic acid. Gluconeogenesis and its control. Fatty acid oxidation, ketonic bodies, Biosynthesis of lipids. Krebs cycle and its energy balance with control. Anaplerotic reactions.
Bassi, Boffi et al.
Biochimica
Ediermes
Siliprandi, Tettamanti.
Biochimica medica.
Piccin.
Nelson, Cox.
I principi di biochimica di Lehninger.
Zanichelli.
Berg, Tymoczko, Stryer.
Biochimica.
Zanichelli.
Thomas M Devlin
Biochimica con aspetti clinici
Edises
The course is organized with lectures that provide for slide projections (usually in English). During the explanation in the classroom the students are invited to interact with the teachers with questions and curiosity. During the lectures the teachers will also present cases and daily facts that can make the application / importance of the subjects of the teachings understand. Students have the obligation to attend classes as established in the educational regulations of the study course and to sign the time sheet for taking the exam. Teachers undertake to make projected presentations available to lectures and other material of interest (articles) through the University computer platforms (e-learning) to which students have access.
For reception students make an appointment by email with the teachers. alberto.passi@uninsubria.it