Course

Unit 1

Basic Organic Chemistry – Introduction- Important elements in biology, concept of hybridization Shape of water and ammonia molecules Acids and bases, pH, Henderson- Hasselbalch Equation, Buffers, Important functional groups in organic chemistry, non-covalent interactions, General types of reactions in Biochemistry, Electrophiles and nucleophiles in biological system,

Unit 2

Amino Acids and Proteins – Introduction, Classification Optical isomerism, chemical properties, Acid-base properties- polyionic nature, zwitter ions, pKa?s, pI, Peptide bond formation and properties, Classification of proteins. Levels of protein structure (brief mention of primary, secondary, tertiary & quaternary structures, Denaturation of Proteins.

Unit 3

Carbohydrates: Introduction – Sources, Classification into mono, di and polysaccharides. Classification of monosaccharides based on no. of carbon atoms.), aldoses and ketoses, Fischer projections, Haworth structures, Anomers, Epimers, Structure and functions of sugars, Disaccharides, Polysaccharides, Glycoconjugates.

Unit 4

Nucleic Acids – Structures of purine and pyrimidine bases Nucleosides, nucleotides, RNA, & DNA Types of RNA Structure of DNA, Watson and Crick model, DNA denaturation, Hyperchromic shift, Aminoacyl tRNA synthetase

Unit 5

Lipids – Introduction, sources, Nomenclature Classification, Properties & Functions, Fatty acids, Triacyl glycerols, Membrane lipids, Glycerophospholipids and sphingophospholipids, Steroids, Structure of steroid nucleus, biological role of Cholesterol, fat soluble vitamins.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:   

This course deals with the concepts of chemical bonding and principal biochemical reaction mechanisms so that the students can apply them in the domains of metabolism, enzyme technology, structural biology, molecular biology and bioinformatics.

COURSE OUTCOMES:   

After completing the course, students shall be able to   

CO1. Understand the concepts of basic chemistry including principles of chemical bonding, hybridization, shape of water and ammonia. Acids, bases, buffers, Preparation of buffers, non-covalent interactions, and general types of reactions involved in biochemistry.   

CO2. Identify and write the chemical structure of Amino acids, depict their ionization 

behavior, peptide bond formation; describe the structure of proteins and them 

functions.   

CO3. Identify and know the structure, properties and functions of carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids.

REFERENCES: 1. Lehninger, Nelson and Cox, Principles of Biochemistry, 7th Edition, Freeman, W. H. & Company, 2017. 2. Donald Voet, Judith G. Voet, Charlotte W. Pratt, Fundamentals of Biochemistry: Life at the Molecular Level, Wiley, 5th Edition. 2016.3. Lubert Stryer, Biochemistry, 9th Edition, W. H. Freeman, 2019. 4. T. W. Graham Solomons, Craig B. Fryhle, Scott A. Snyder Organic Chemistry, 12th edition, Wileyplus 2016.