BTEC 650 - Applied Biochemistry

[3]

This course will review the chemistry of living systems, with an emphasis on topics of biotechnological and biomedical interest. The course will also survey the methods used in modern biochemistry so students will be able to understand the connection between empirical data and the established facts and concepts presented in the course. The first part of the course will focus on the relationship between the structure and function of proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids and membranes. Important chemical concepts relevant to these molecules and their components (amino acids, nucleotides, etc.), such as pH and weak chemical interactions, will be presented. After an introduction to enzyme kinetics, the course will concentrate on the principles and pathways of intermediary metabolism. The final topics will be concerned with informational biochemistry-DNA replication, recombination, repair and transcription, as well as protein synthesis.