This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Undergraduate Handbook 2006-2007 (archived)

Module CHEM2051: BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

Department: Chemistry

CHEM2051: BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	2	20	Available in 2006/2007	None.	Durham

Pre-requisites

Core Chemistry 1A (CHEM1012).

Corequisites

(i) At least one from Chemistry of the Elements (CHEM2021), Ring Chemistry (CHEM2031), Properties of Molecules (CHEM2041), Inorganic Concepts and Application (CHEM3021), Advanced Organic Chemistry (CHEM3031), Molecules and their Interactions (CHEM3041) OR (ii) all biological sciences modules in the framework for level 2 of the programme leading to B.Sc. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.

Excluded Combinations

None.

Aims

To emphasise and expand undergraduates' application of chemical knowledge and analytical method to biological systems.
This will be pursued by presenting the interrelation of lecture material through project work that introduces computer-based searching of recent biochemical literature, particularly spectroscopic information.

Content

Metals in biological systems: metalloproteins; ion channels and ion pumps, NMR studies.
Amino acids and peptides: Structure and properties of natural amino-acids, resolution and racemisation.
Sugars, nucleic acids and nucleosides: structure and reactions, synthesis, biological role, use of drugs.
Constitution, conformation and role of nucleic acids.
Biological spectrometry: optical rotation; circular dichroism; mass spectrometry, magnetic resonance spectrometry.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

Explain the importance of metals in life processes.
Identify biologically active substances from information about their composition and spectra.
Design and plan methods for the synthesis of oligo-peptides, saccharides and nucleotides.
Have a good understanding of the structure and reactivity of amino-acids, peptides, carbohydrates and nucleosides and their importance in biological chemistry.

Subject-specific Skills

Use a range of spectroscopic techniques to investigate molecular structure.

Key Skills

Analytical Scientific Writing Skills.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

Lectures are used to convey concepts and are examined by written papers. This is the best method to assess the knowledge of the students.
Workshops are larger groups of students where problems are considered and common difficulties shared. This ensures that students have understood the work and can apply it to real life situations. These are formatively assessed.
Following a demonstration lecture, and a computer workshop in the Epiphany Term, undergraduates work on gaining information about a particular protein by researching structural data obtained by X-ray diffraction, mass spectroscopy and NMR studies in the literature. This is followed by a project group discussion with undergraduates pooling results and then writing up their findings individually. The project is summatively assessed.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Frequency	Duration	Total Hours
Lectures	32	2 per week	1 Hour	32
Seminars	1	1 in term 2	2 hours	2
Practicals	1	1 in term 2	2 hours	2
Collection	1	1 in term 2	1 hour	1
Other (workshops)	4	2 per Term	2 Hours	8
Preparation and Reading				155
Total				200

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Examination	75%	Written examination	Three hours	100%	Three hour written examination
Project	25%	project		100%	1 hour written examination

Formative Assessment

Set work in preparation for workshops.

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.