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Teaching GuideTerm Faculty of Science |
| Grao en Nanociencia e Nanotecnoloxía |
 Subjects |
| Structural Biochemistry |
| Contents |
| Identifying Data | 2023/24 | |||||||||||||
| Subject | Structural Biochemistry | Code | 610G04019 | |||||||||||
| Study programme |
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| Descriptors | Cycle | Period | Year | Type | Credits | |||||||||
| Graduate | 2nd four-month period |
Second | Obligatory | 6 | ||||||||||
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| Topic | Sub-topic |
| Module 1. Introduction to Biochemistry |
Concept, origins and evolution of Biomolecules. Functional groups, chemical bonds and stereochemistry. Biomolecules in polar solvents: ionization of water, ionic balance and buffer systems. Thermodynamic processes in biochemistry. |
| Module 2. Structure and function of biomolecules: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, amino acids and proteins. |
2.1. Structure and function of amino acids and proteins: Type of proteins and functions. Structure and properties of two amino acids. Classification. Protein structuring levels. peptide bond. Primary structure and amino acid sequence of proteins. Protein secondary structure: description and prediction. Concept of protein domain and folding. Tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins: characteristics and classification. Dynamics and folding of proteins. Relationship between structure and function in proteins. 2.2. Structure and function of carbohydrates: Classification. Monosaccharides: description, structure and physical and chemical properties. O-glycosidic bond. Oligosaccharides: nomenclature, description, structure and properties. polysaccharides. Glycoconjugates: proteoglycans, glycoproteins and glycolipids. Formation and functionalization of nanostructures based on carbohydrates. 23. Structure and function of lipids: Type of lipids and functions. Classification, physical-chemical properties, structure and biological importance of fatty acids, cerides, glycerides, phosphoglycerides. sphingolipids, terpenes and steroids. pyrrolic lipids. Cholesterol and derivatives. Lipoproteins. Fat-soluble vitamins. Formation and functionalization of lipid-based nanostructures. 2.4. Structure and function of nucleic acids: nature and function. Nucleotides, structure and properties. Phosphodiester bond and primary structure of nucleic acids. Watson and Crick model and alternative structures of deoxyribonucleic acids. Types and structure of ribonucleic acids. Formation and functionalization of nanocomplexes based on nucleic acids. |
| Module 3. Enzymology: Enzymes, enzyme kinetics and enzyme regulation. |
General properties. Classification and nomenclature of enzymes. Effects of catalysts on chemical reactions. Activation energy and transition state. Enzyme cofactors, coenzymes and the role of vitamins. The active site: three-dimensional structure and enzyme-substrate coupling. Enzyme mechanisms. Acid-base, covalent, electrostatic and metal ion catalysis. Proximity and orientation effects. Reaction speed and activation energy: concepts, calculations and units. Units of enzymatic activity. Effect of enzyme concentration. Enzymes used in clinical analysis, in the diagnosis of diseases or as therapeutic agents. |
| Module 4. Biochemical techniques for the isolation and characterization of biomolecules. |
General aspects of the methodology in biochemistry. The biological material used in biochemistry. Fractional precipitation and centrifugation. Chromatographic, electrophoretic and spectroscopic techniques. Dialysis and ultrafiltration. Radioactivity and isotopic techniques in biochemistry. |
| Lab work | 1- Cell Culture + Work with molecular models: monosaccharides and peptides. 2- Affinity chromatography + SEC 3- SDS-PAGE electrophoresis + protein quantification 4- Measurements of enzymatic activity |
| Use of bioinformatic tools | 1- Databases 2- Multiple Sequence Alignment 3- Modeling of structures 4- Docking |
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