This course covers biochemistry concepts central to the biotechnology industry with an emphasis on the enzymatic and metabolic processes of living systems at the molecular level. Topics include the structure and function of biomolecules including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids; enzymes and enzyme kinetics; and metabolism, including energy production and storage. The course is beneficial for scientists and non-scientists interested in the critical biochemistry processes underlying core technologies in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, diagnostics, biotechnology and biofuel industries.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, you should be able to

• Explain elementary features of chemical bonding, electronegativity, chemical thermodynamics and kinetics and identify the structure and nomenclature of common functional groups of organic compounds and their basic structure-reactivity relationships
• Describe the 3-dimensional aspects of organic compounds in terms of stereochemistry
• Understand basic features of monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides and carbohydrate chemistry including the structure-reactivity of hemiacetals and acetals
• Describe the basic structure, acid-base properties and classification of amino acids and the structure of peptides and proteins in terms of amino sequence and their structural motifs
• Describe the basic structure of lipids and biomembranes and understand the basic mechanisms of signal transduction and membrane transport
• Understand the basic chemical properties of enzymes and selected catalytic mechanisms and the roles of vitamins and cofactors
• Discuss the basics of cellular bioenergetics, ATP and the roles of glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle and electron transport
• Describe the basic structures of the nucleotides found in DNA and RNA and gain an overview of nucleic acid replication, transcription, the genetic code and protein biosynthesis
• Describe the basic metabolism of lipids, amino acids and carbohydrates with focus on glucose

Topics Include

• Preface to the world according to Carbon
• Structure and nomenclature of common functional groups of organic compounds
• Carbohydrate chemistry
• Chemical structure and properties
• Bioenergetics, ATP, free energy and coupled reactions
• Nucleotides, chemical and physical structure of DNA and RNA
• Basic metabolism of lipids, amino acids and carbohydrates

Skills Needed

• A college-level chemistry course. Some knowledge of organic chemistry is required.