Biological chemistry I

Lecturers

Language

English

Summary

Content

In this course we will learn the properties of biological macromolecules at the atomic level in order to understand their function within the cell. We will dissect therefore the basics of macromolecular structure and how it translates into functional molecular mechanisms. Among the major types of biological macromolecules, including nucleic acids, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, we will put a major emphasis on proteins - the workhorses of cells. The content of the course will touch the following topics:

• Building blocks: Sugars, lipids, amino acids, oligonucleotides 

• Protein structural organization, folding

• Analysis and visualization of proteins

• Protein expression and purification

• Protein structure determination by experimental and computational methods

• Thermodynamics and kinetics of biomolecules

• Methods to measure protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions

• Enzymatic catalysis and reaction mechanisms

Keywords

proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, structural biology, biochemistry, enzymes, experimental and computational methods, protein folding, biophysics

Teaching methods

• Lectures
• Exercise session accompanying each lecture
• Execises session on bioinformatics and proteins structure visualization tools

Expected student activities

• Attending to classes
• Attendance to exercise
• Class participation

Assessment methods

• The exam will be in a classical written form (a combination of multiple choice questions and problems). You are only allowed to bring essential writing supplies and a calculator.

Teaching assistants

• Kiruthika Kumar - kiruthika.kumar@epfl.ch
• Alissa Agerova - alissa.agerova@epfl.ch
• Nikolas Seidel - nikolas.seidel@epfl.ch
  
• Ekaterina Lyublinskaya - ekaterina.lyublinskaya@epfl.ch
  
• Shiro Otaki - shiro.otaki@epfl.ch
  
• Arthur Samurkas - arthur.samurkas@epfl.ch
• Mubarak Olanrewaju Idris - mubarak.idris@epfl.ch
• Edoardo Cavani - edoardo.cavani@epfl.ch

Bibliography