Course Information

BioC4331 covers structure, catalysis, metabolism in biological systems. Dr. Griffith presents the first half of the course; Dr. Murphy presents the second. The first 6 lectureswill review basic chemical concepts and then discuss primary structure (amino acids and sequence), secondary structure (helices, sheet turns), tertiary structure (folding, three dimensional
structure) and quaternary structure (subunits and their interactions) of proteins. The next 7
lectures deal with enzyme kinetics, mechanisms and binding interactions. Protein purification and analysis are also discussed. The next 5 lectures discuss carbohydrates, lipid and membrane structures, and transport processes. The last 7 lectures will discuss metabolic pathways including, glycolysis, glycogen synthesis, the citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, amino acid and nitrogen metabolism, lipid synthesis and metabolism. Thermodynamic considerations are emphasized for all pathways.