KE547: Chemical Biology
Study Board of Science
Teaching language: English
EKA: N530040102
Assessment: Second examiner
Grading: Pass/Fail
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Summer school (autumn)
Level: Bachelor
STADS ID (UVA): N530040101
ECTS value: 5
Date of Approval: 15-03-2021
Duration: 1 semester
Version: Archive
Comment
Entry requirements
Students enrolled in bachelor’s or master's programme in Chemistry, Pharmacy, Medicinal chemistry or Biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB).
Academic preconditions
Academic preconditions. Students taking the course are expected to:
- Have basic knowledge of organic molecules, biomolecules and organic reactions.
- Have knowledge of the central dogma of biology
- Be able to use molecular structure to understand properties of molecules.
Participant limit
Course introduction
The aim of the course is to enable the student to understand the underlying biology based on its chemical building blocks and their interactions, which is important in regard to designing better medicines that improve the quality of human life.
Students will learn about the chemical structures and properties of the three main classes of biomolecules – nucleic acids, proteins and lipids – and learn how each of them can play a role in therapeutics, diagnostics or biotechnology. Through lectures, tutorials and laboratory exercises, the course will provide a comprehensive approach to design, synthesis and analysis of natural and unnatural function of important classes of biomolecules.
Expected learning outcome
The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:
- recognize natural and modified nucleic acids, their secondary structures and possible applications in nanotechnology and gene therapy
- understand the link between protein structure and function
- synthesise peptides and examine them as substrates for biomedically important enzymes
- learn how to immobilize enzymes into solid particles for better applications
- get hands-on experience to encapsulate enzymes into alginate gel for their reuse
- learn about the structure and physico-chemical properties of amphiphiles and their self-assembly into lipid bilayer membranes
- design amphiphilic synthetic biopolymers that can be embedded into lipid membranes
- prepare synthetic lipid membrane nanoparticles – liposomes – and to functionalize them with amphiphilic synthetic DNA or peptides
- perform solid-phase DNA and peptide synthesis
Content
The following main topics are contained in the course:
- DNA / RNA
- Peptides / Proteins
- Nanobiotechnology - Engineering of biological membranes
- Biocatalysis
Literature
Examination regulations
Exam element a)
Timing
August
Tests
Portfolio
EKA
N530040102
Assessment
Second examiner
Grading
Pass/Fail
Identification
Student Identification Card
Language
Normally, the same as teaching language
Examination aids
Allowed.
ECTS value
5
Additional information
The Portfolio consist of a) active participation in lectures and other activities and b) Poster presentation. During the poster presentation group of students are evaluated simultaneously.
The examination form for re-examination may be different from the exam form at the regular exam.
Indicative number of lessons
Teaching Method
The teaching method is based on three phase model.
- Intro phase: 15 hours
- Skills training phase: 35 hours, thereof tutorials: 14 hours and laboratory exercises: 21 hours
Activities during the study phase:
- Solution of assignments in order to discuss these in the exercise sections.
- Solving the project assignments
- Self study of various parts of the course material.
- Reflection upon the intro and training sections.
Teacher responsible
Additional teachers
| Name | Department | City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changzhu Wu | wu@sdu.dk | Kemi og Farmaci | |
| Chenguang Lou | chenguang@sdu.dk | Kemi og Farmaci | |
| Philipp M. G. Löffler | pmgl@sdu.dk | Institut for Fysik, Kemi og Farmaci |