Biomolecules and Bio-organic Chemistry

Introduction and historical perspective, chemical and biological catalysis, remarkable properties of enzymes like catalytic power, specificity and regulation, nomenclature and classification, extraction and purification. Fischer's lock and key and Koshland's induced fit hypothesis, concept and identification of active site by the use of inhibitors, affinity labeling and enzyme modification by site-directed mutagenesis, enzyme kinetics, Michaelis-Menten and Lineweaver-Burk plots, reversible and irreversible inhibition.

Nucleophilic displacement on a phosphorus atom, multiple displacement reactions and the coupling of ATP cleavage to endergonic processes, transfer of sulphate, addition and elimination reactions, enolic intermediates in isomerization reactions, (β-cleavage and condensation, some isomerization and rearrangement reactions, enzyme catalyzed carboxylation and decarboxylation, examples of some typical enzyme mechanisms for chymotrypsin, ribonuclease, lysozyme and carboxypeptidase A.

Glycolysis, fate of pyruvate under anaerobic conditions, citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation (electron transport system), gluconeogenesis and glucogenolysis, C₄ pathway, pentose phosphate pathway and photosynthesis.

Degradation of amino acids (C₃, C₄, C₅ family), urea cycle, uric acid and ammonia formation.

Proteins (Structure and Functions): primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure; enzymes, active sites, allosteric sites and mechanisms of their actions, e.g., chymotrypsin, carboxypeptidase, lipases, etc; enzyme immobilization and their application, enzyme as target as drug design.

Chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis, structure and functions of DNA, RNA (m-RNA, t-RNA, r-RNA), an overview of gene expression (replication, transcription and translation), genetic code (origin, Wobble hypothesis and other important features), genetic errors, carcinogenesis and recombinant DNA technology.