Course Objectives:
Students will gain knowledge about fundamental concepts of biochemistry as well as be able to learn about the structures, properties and functions of amino acids, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids.
Introduction to Biochemistry:
Brief introduction to the scope and history of Biochemistry, molecular logic of the living organism, cell structures and their functions, origin and nature of biomolecules.
Acid–Base and Electrolyte Chemistry:
Intracellular and extracellular electrolytes, body fluids as electrolyte solutions, pH, Henderson-Hasselbalch equation and buffers, amino acids, peptides and proteins, buffer capacity, buffers of body fluids, haemoglobin as an acid-base system, renal control of acid-base, balance, acid-base disorders: acidosis, alkalosis. haemoglobin and omeostasis, variation of Na+, K+, Cl- in acid-base disturbances.
Carbohydrates, Lipids and Proteins:
Definition and classification, chemistry, physical and chemical properties of various classes of carbohydrates, biological functions of starch, glycogen, cellulose, and cell wall polysaccharides, acid mucopolysaccharides and proteoglycans.
Definition and classification of lipids, chemistry and biological importance of fatty acids, waxes, glycerides, phospholipids, sphingolipids, glycolipids, sterols and prostaglandins.
Significance of lipids in biological membranes and transport mechanism. Chemistry and classification of amino acids, physical and chemical properties of amino acids, biological significance of amino acids, peptides, proteins, their classification, properties and biological significance, primary, secondary tertiary and quatenary structure of proteins, denaturation of proteins.
Nucleic Acids:
Chemical composition of nucleic acids, structure and biological significance of nucleic acids, chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides, nucleic acids hydrolysis, isolation and separation of nucleic acids, introduction to recombinant DNA technology.
CHEM-131 Lab.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. Laboratory work illustrating topics covered in the lecture of Chem.131, Determination of pH, Preparation of buffers.
Enzyme catalysis, Progress curve for enzyme catalyzed reactions, Determination of values. To study the effect of different factors on the rate of enzyme catalyzed reactions.