Chemistry 437 » Fall » Full Semester
4 Credits
Bioorganic Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Instructor(s): Rudi FasanPrerequisites: One year of organic chemistry; one semester of biology recommended.
Crosslisting: None.
Restrictions: Not open to freshmen and sophomores.
Course Summary:
An introduction to bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology. The course will present a survey of how the principles of organic chemistry have been applied to understand and exploit biological phenomena and address fundamental questions in life sciences. The course is primarily based upon the primary literature. Covered topics include the design and mechanism of enzyme mimics and small molecule catalysts (organocatalysts), synthesis and chemical modification of biomolecules (oligonucleotides, proteins, oligosaccharides), design and application of oligonucleotide and peptide mimetics, and chemical approaches to proteomic and genetic analyses. This course is intended to provide an overview of the most relevant achievements in this broad interdisciplinary area of research and stimulate students to think creatively on how to apply their chemistry knowledge to tackle fundamental problems in biology and medicine.
An introduction to bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology. The course will present a survey of how the principles of organic chemistry have been applied to understand and exploit biological phenomena and address fundamental questions in life sciences. The course is primarily based upon the primary literature. Covered topics include the design and mechanism of enzyme mimics and small molecule catalysts (organocatalysts), synthesis and chemical modification of biomolecules (oligonucleotides, proteins, oligosaccharides), design and application of oligonucleotide and peptide mimetics, and chemical approaches to proteomic and genetic analyses. This course is intended to provide an overview of the most relevant achievements in this broad interdisciplinary area of research and stimulate students to think creatively on how to apply their chemistry knowledge to tackle fundamental problems in biology and medicine.
Course Topics:
- Physical and chemical properties of biomolecules
- Fundamental aspects of chemical and enzymatic catalysis
- Enzyme mimics and organocatalysts
- Peptide and protein synthesis
- Synthetic protein mimics
- Unnatural proteins and expansion of the genetic code
- Oligonucleotide synthesis
- Oligonucleotide mimetics
- Glycobiology, Oligosaccharide synthesis
- Chemical approaches to proteomic analysis
- Chemical genetics
Required Text:
Lectures will be complemented by assigned reading material from the primary literature and selected readings from classical textbooks.
Lectures will be complemented by assigned reading material from the primary literature and selected readings from classical textbooks.