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PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

Anna MARABOTTI PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

0512400017
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY "ADOLFO ZAMBELLI"
EQF6
CHEMISTRY
2024/2025

OBBLIGATORIO
YEAR OF COURSE 3
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2016
AUTUMN SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
648LESSONS
ANNA MARABOTTI T Curriculum
Objectives
GENERAL OBJECTIVE:
THE COURSE AIMS TO PROVIDE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, ENZYME CATALYSIS, THE BASICS OF THE STRUCTURE-FUNCTION RELATIONSHIP OF PROTEINS AND ENZYMES, THE MAIN METABOLIC PATHWAYS AND THEIR INTEGRATIONS.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
THE STUDENT:
- WILL UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL-PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAIN CLASSES OF MACROMOLECULES OF BIOLOGICAL INTEREST (LIPIDS, PROTEINS, NUCLEIC ACIDS, CARBOHYDRATES);
- WILL UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF MACROMOLECULES OF BIOLOGICAL INTEREST;
- WILL UNDERSTAND CELLULAR FUNCTIONING IN RELATION TO THE ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY VARIOUS TYPES OF MACROMOLECULES;
- WILL UNDERSTAND THE THERMODYNAMIC BASIS OF ENERGY FUNCTIONING IN CELLS AND ORGANISMS;
- WILL UNDERSTAND THE FUNCTIONING OF ENZYMES AND THE MAIN MECHANISMS FOR REGULATING ENZYME ACTIVITY;
- WILL KNOW THE MAIN METABOLIC CYCLES, BOTH CATABOLIC AND CATABOLIC, IN PARTICULAR THE SUBSTRATES, INTERMEDIATES AND PRODUCTS OF THE REACTIONS, AND THE MAIN ENZYMES INVOLVED IN THE VARIOUS METABOLIC STEPS OF GLYCOLYSIS, KREBS CYCLE, OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION, ANAEROBIC PROCESSES, GLYCOGEN METABOLISM, PENTOSE PHOSPHATE CYCLE, AMINO ACID CATABOLISM AND UREA CYCLE, FATTY ACID CATABOLISM, GLUCONEOGENESIS, FATTY ACID ANABOLIC PROCESSES, NITROGEN ORGANISATION, CHLOROPHYLL PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING:
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO:
- RELATE THE CHEMICAL-PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MACROMOLECULES ANALYSED TO THEIR FUNCTION AND THE CELLULAR STRUCTURES INVOLVED;
- ENUNCIATE THE NAMES, SYMBOLS AND RECOGNISE THE DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS OF AMINO ACIDS;
- RECOGNISE THE STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAIN CLASSES OF PROTEINS ILLUSTRATED IN THE COURSE;
- IDENTIFY THE FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ENZYME, REPRESENT ENZYME KINETIC CURVES AND RECOGNISE THE DIFFERENT MODES OF INHIBITION GRAPHICALLY;
- LIST THE VARIOUS ENZYMATIC STEPS OF THE MAIN METABOLIC CYCLES COVERED IN THE COURSE, INDICATING REAGENTS AND REACTION PRODUCTS AND THE ENZYMES INVOLVED.

AUTONOMY OF JUDGEMENT:
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO:
- IDENTIFY THE KEY METABOLIC STEPS IN ANIMAL METABOLISM

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO:
- DESCRIBE WITH APPROPRIATE SCIENTIFIC LANGUAGE THE CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO RECOGNISE THEIR CHEMICAL STRUCTURES;
- CORRECTLY INTERPRET GRAPHS AND TABLES REFERRING TO THE PROPERTIES OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES AND THE PHENOMENA ANALYSED DURING THE COURSE

LEARNING SKILLS:
THE STUDENT WILL BE ABLE TO:
- USE TRADITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL TOOLS AND COMPUTER RESOURCES FOR ANALYSIS AND ARCHIVING;
- UNDERSTAND AND INTERPRET COMPLEX TEXTS OF AN ADVERTISING OR LITERARY NATURE;
- CONTINUOUSLY UPDATE THEIR KNOWLEDGE, USING TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.
Prerequisites
THE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY EXAM IS MANDATORY BEFORE PASSING THE BIOCHEMISTRY EXAM.
THE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I EXAM IS MANDATORY BEFORE PASSING THE PRINCIPLES OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY EXAM.
Contents
THE COURSE TAKES 48 HOURS (6 CFU) OF LECTURES. THE TOPICS ADDRESSED ARE:
• INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY, FUNDAMENTALS OF CELL BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY (2 HOURS)
• THE MAIN BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES: CARBOHYDRATES (2 HOURS)
• THE MAIN BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES: LIPIDS, NUCLEIC ACIDS (2 HOURS)
• THE MAIN BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES: AMINO ACIDS AND PEPTIDES (2 HOURS)
• STRUCTURE LEVELS OF PROTEINS: PEPTIDE BOND. SECONDARY STRUCTURE: MAIN CLASSES. TERTIARY STRUCTURE OF GLOBULAR PROTEINS AND STABILIZING FACTORS. QUATERNARY STRUCTURE. INTRINSICALLY DISORDERED PROTEIN (2 HOURS)
• PROTEIN FUNCTIONS: MYOGLOBIN AND HEMOGLOBIN, STRUCTURAL PROTEINS (4 HOURS)
• ENZYMES. ENZYME COFACTORS. MECHANISM OF ACTION OF ENZYMES. KINETICS AND ENZYMATIC INHIBITION. ALLOSTERIC ADJUSTMENT (6 HOURS)
• GENERAL CONCEPTS ON METABOLISM. PRINCIPLES OF BIOENERGETICS AND THERMODYNAMICS. HIGH ENERGY MOLECULES (4 HOURS).
• METABOLISM OF SUGARS: GLYCOLYSIS AND FERMENTATION, OXIDATIVE DECARBOXYILATION OF THE PIRUVATE. GLYCOGENOLYSIS AND GLYCOGENOSYNTHESIS. THE CYCLE OF PENTOSIS. CYCLE OF CORI, CYCLE OF KREBS (8 HOURS)
• CATABOLISM OF AMINO ACIDS. THE UREA CYCLE. (4 HOURS)
• METABOLISM OF LIPIDS (4 HOURS)
• OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORILATION. (4 HOURS)
• NOTES TO THE MAIN ANABOLIC ROUTES. (2 HOURS)
• THE CHLOROPHILLIAN PHOTOSYNTHESIS (2 HOURS)
Teaching Methods
THE COURSE INCLUDES FRONTAL LESSONS WITH A TOTAL DURATION OF 48 HOURS (6 CFU), WHICH TAKE PLACE IN THE CLASSROOM WITH THE PROJECTION OF EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT. INTERACTIVE DIDACTICS METHODS AND FLIPPED CLASSROOM CAN BE APPLIED FOR SELECTED TOPICS.
CLASS ATTENDANCE IS NOT COMPULSORY, BUT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
Verification of learning
THE LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE TEACHING IS CERTIFIED BY PASSING A WRITTEN TEST, AIMED AT VERIFYING THE ACQUISITION OF:
- KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS RELATED TO ALL THE TOPICS OF THE TEACHING;
- ABILITY TO CORRECTLY APPLY THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE;
- ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEMS PROPOSED;
- ADEQUATE LANGUAGE PROPERTY IN EXPOSITION.
THE TEST IS OF LENGTH OF 45 MINUTES AND INCLUDES A COMBINATION OF 13 MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS (SCORING A VALUE OF 1 OR 2 POINTS, DEPENDING ON THE DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY), DIRECT (SHORT) ANSWER QUESTIONS (SCORING A MAXIMUM OF 3 POINTS), AND ONE OPEN QUESTION (SCORING A MAXIMUM OF 5 POINTS), FOR A TOTAL OF 32 POINTS. WRONG ANSWERS DO NOT CARRY A PENALTY. FOR OPEN QUESTIONS, A GRADED SCORE WILL BE AWARDED BY EVALUATING DEMONSTRATED KNOWLEDGE, LANGUAGE PROPERTY, AND THE ABILITY TO CORRECTLY IDENTIFY THE BIOLOGICAL CONTEXT IN WHICH THE SUBJECT OF THE QUESTION IS SITUATED.
THE FINAL GRADE IS AWARDED BY SUMMING THE SCORES ACHIEVED IN THE INDIVIDUAL QUESTIONS.
MINIMUM SCORE (18/30) IS GRANTED WHEN THE STUDENT SHOWS SUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO ESTABLISH CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE TOPICS COVERED.
MAXIMUM SCORE (30/30) IS GRANTED WHEN THE STUDENT SHOWS COMPLETE AND APPROPRIATE KNOWLEDGE AND IS ABLE TO ESTABLISH CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE TOPICS COVERED.
HONORS WILL BE AWARDED TO STUDENTS WHO HAVE ANSWERED ALL QUESTIONS CORRECTLY, DEMONSTRATING EXCELLENT LANGUAGE SKILLS AND CRITICAL ABILITY IN WRITTEN EXPOSITION, IN ADDITION TO THE KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE THE HIGHEST MARK.
WRITTEN INTER-COURSE TESTS, SIMILAR IN STRUCTURE TO THE FINAL TEST, MAY BE CONDUCTED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO ENABLE STUDENTS TO FAMILIARISE THEMSELVES WITH THE FORMAT OF THE FINAL TEST.
Texts
REFERENCE TEXT:
CHOOSE ONE TEXT FROM THE FOLLOWING TWO:
- D.C. NELSON, M.M. COX, LEHNINGER'S INTRODUCTION TO BIOCHEMISTRY, ZANICHELLI
- D. VOET, J.G. VOET, C. PRATT: PRINCIPLES OF BIOCHEMISTRY, ZANICHELLI
THE TEACHER WILL INDICATE FROM TIME TO TIME WHICH CHAPTERS AND PARAGRAPHS IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSULT FOR LEARNING THE TEACHING CONTENT. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT STUDENTS ALSO USE THE ONLINE SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER.

IN-DEPTH TEXTS:
- TYMOCZKO, BERG, STRYER, PRINCIPLES OF BIOCHEMISTRY, ZANICHELLI
- CAMPBELL/FARRELL, BIOCHEMISTRY, EDISES
- J.D. RAWN, BIOCHEMISTRY, VOL. I., MCGRAW-HILL.
- T. BROWN, GETTING TO KNOW BIOCHEMISTRY, ZANICHELLI
THE TEACHER WILL INDICATE FROM TIME TO TIME WHICH CHAPTERS AND PARAGRAPHS IT IS USEFUL TO CONSULT FOR FURTHER STUDY OF PARTICULAR TOPICS.

OTHER MATERIALS:
AT THE END OF EACH LECTURE, THE TEACHER PROVIDES A LIST OF ADDITIONAL MATERIALS CONSULTED, ACCESSIBLE ONLINE, PROVIDING LINKS DIRECTLY IN THE SLIDES THAT ARE PROVIDED TO STUDENTS.
More Information
TEACHING IS DELIVERED IN THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE. REGULAR CLASS ATTENDANCE IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
FURTHER INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED BY CONTACTING THE TEACHER DURING OFFICE HOURS OR BY E-MAIL (AMARABOTTI@UNISA.IT) OR VIA TEAMS PLATFORM.
SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS, A HELP TEACHING COURSE IS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH EXAM CALL. IT IS ADVISABLE TO ASK THE TEACHER FOR INFORMATION BEFORE REGISTERING FOR THE EXAM CALL.
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