Unit BIOCHEMISTRY
- Course
- Quality control of healthcare products
- Study-unit Code
- GP004369
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Carmela Conte
- Teachers
-
- Carmela Conte
- Hours
- 42 ore - Carmela Conte
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2025
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Discipline biologiche
- Sector
- BIO/10
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Biological macromolecules and structure-function relationship. Metabolisms. Overview of biochemical methods for the study of macromolecules
- Reference texts
- Introduzione alla biochimica di Lehninger- Nelson e Cox. Zanichelli Editore.
Principi di Biochimica di Garret & Grisham. Piccin Editore - Educational objectives
- Upon completing the course, students will have a basic knowledge of the fundamental principles behind biochemical processes
- Prerequisites
- The teaching aims to address topics that the student will be able to learn if they have acquired basic knowledge of animal biology and organic chemistry. To the understanding of the content covered it is essential that the students have acquired fundamental concepts on the structure of the main macromolecules and chemical bonds, as well as their behavior during metabolic reactions.
- Teaching methods
- Teaching will be carried out through online lectures concerning the topics included in the syllabus platform.
- Learning verification modality
- The assessment consists of an oral exam during which the student will have answer to the questions regarding the topics covered in the lectures and listed in the course syllabus. During the interview, the student must demonstrate consistency with the proposed question, clarity of exposition, and correctness of scientific terminology.
- Extended program
- * Introduction to the Biochemistry.
* Water and weak interactions in aqueous systems. Ionization of water, weak acids, and weak bases. Biological buffers.
* Fundamental thermodynamic concepts.
* Structure and function of the main biomolecules.
* Nucleic acids: Nucleotides. DNA and RNA structures and main functions.
* Cell membranes and transmembrane transport.
* Carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides and their implications in human biochemistry.
* Glucose metabolism: Glycolysis, Glycogenolysis, Gluconeogenesis, Pentose phosphate shunt.
* Lipids: the main classes of lipids and their implications in human biochemistry. Fatty acids, acylglycerols, phospholipids, sphingolipids, glycolipids, and polyprenoids. Cholesterol. Lipids as signals and cofactors.
* Lipid metabolism: Fatty acid catabolism, Ketone bodies, lipogenesis.
* Electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation
* Amino acids. Classification and description of the twenty alpha-L-amino acids that constitute the proteins.
* Proteins: structures and functions. Primary, Secondary, tertiary, and quaternary structure. Globular and fibrous proteins. Alpha-keratins and fibroin, collagen.
* Amino acid metabolism. Fate of the amino group. Glucogenic and ketogenic amino acids. Transamination. Urea cycle
* Protein folding.
* Myoglobin and hemoglobin; relationships between structure and function * Vitamins and Biochemical action of vitamins. Coenzymes: structure and functions.
* Enzymes: General classification, catalytic activity and structure; cofactors and prosthetic groups; Enzyme kinetics. Michaelis and Menten model. Km and Vmax values. Competitive, non-competitive and irreversible inhibition. Mechanisms of enzymatic catalysis.
* Enzyme regulation. Allosteric enzymes and Kinetics. Covalent regulation: reversible and irreversible.
* Signal Transduction.
* Methods for protein isolation and study. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- Health and Wellness.