Biological Chemistry

Code:

MT106

Acronym:

Q_BIOL

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Medicine

Instance: 2004/2005 - A

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Chemistry
Course/CS Responsible:	Medicine

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MED	176	Plano oficial a partir de 2003	1	8		-

Objectives

1. Rationalize living systems using the general principles of chemistry, conceiving Biological Chemistry as a subset of Chemistry.
2. Being able to correlate and apply knowledge from Organic and Inorganic Chemistry to Biological Chemistry.
3. Acquire specific knowledge about biological molecules and the basic organization of cellular chemistry.

Program

Theoretical

1. Bio-energetics
Thermodynamics. Gibbs function. Oxidation-reduction potencials. Energetics of transport through membranes. Living systems as thermodynamical systems.

2. Molecular structure
Chemical bond models, stereochemistry and molecular conformation.

3. Bio-inorganics
Metallic elements in biological systems: properties and regulation.

4. Bio-organics
Structure and reactivity of organic compounds. Inductive and mesomeric effects. Nucleophiles and electrophiles. Free radicals. Carbocations and carbanions.
Alkenes. Addition reactions.
Aromatic compounds. Resonance energy. Characteristic reactions. Chemical carcinogenesis.
Aldehydes e ketones. The carbonyl group. Nucleophilic addition and condensation.
Carbohydrates. Monosaccharides. Glycosidic bond. Oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.
Carboxylic acids and derivatives. Acidity. Nucleophilic substitution.
Lipids. Fatty acids. Eicosanoids. Glycerides and phosphoglycerides. Steroids. Lipoproteins.
Amines. Basicity. Characteristic reactions. Alkaloids and biogenic amines.
Proteins. Aminoacids. Peptide bond. Structure and conformation. Biological functions.
Nucleic acids. Nucleotides. DNA and RNA structures and conformations.

5. Primary metabolism organization
Oxido-reductive biological cycles: cell's energetic strategies. Metabolic regulation. Mediating action of ATP and NAD(P)H.

6. Enzymes
Molecular recognition. Energetics, kinetics and regulation of enzymatic catalysis. Co-enzymes and cofactors.

Practical (laboratory)

1. Extraction and solubility of benzoic acid
2. Cromatographic analysis
3. Potenciometric titration of an aminoacid
4. Metallic complexes synthesis
5. Anthocyanins spectrophotometry
6. Carbohydrate identification
7. Quantification of total seric cholesterol
8. Seric proteins electrophoresis
9. Invertase kinetics
10. DNA denaturation and spectrophotometry

Main Bibliography

1. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, David L. Nelson, Michael M. Cox, 3rd Edition, Worth, New York, 2000.
2. Physical Chemistry for the Chemical and Biological Sciences, Raymond Chang, 3rd Edition, McMillan, New York, 2000.
3. Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry, TW Graham Solomons 3rd Ed., John Wiley and Sons,1990.
4. Organic Chemistry, John McMurry , 3rd Ed., Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1992.
5. Apontamentos de Química Biológica, José Augusto Pereira, ICBAS, 2005.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Eligibility for exams

Presence in two thirds of laboratory classes and also in two thirds of practical-theoretical classes.

Calculation formula of final grade

Theoretical and practical-theoretical classification (T):
(allowed options)

1. { [ ( A1 + A2 ) / 2 ] + [ ( A3 + A4 ) / 2 ] } / 2

2. { [ ( A1 + A2 ) / 2 ] + E2 } / 2

3. { E1 + [ ( A3 + A4 ) / 2 ] } / 2

4. (E1 + E2 ) / 2

5. E

Laboratorial classification (P):

Average of laboratory summary grades, eventually weighed with other information about laboratory conduct and report quality. If a student misses a class a grade of zero will be attributed since he/she didn't write the laboratory work summary.

Final classification:

T x 0,9 + P x 0,1

Important note: The T grade is eliminatory. The P grade is considered only if T is above 9.5/20.