CH 150: Introduction to Biochemistry
Course Description:
Biochemistry and biotechnology are rapidly growing industries, especially in the areas of genetic engineering. The job market is very promising in all areas of biotechnology, especially in the area of pharmaceutical research and production, as the traditional methods of drug discovery and synthesis are changing rapidly. For example, transgenic pigs and cows (some clones, some not) have been engineered to produce human protein C (a protein needed for proper blood clotting) in their milk supply. No longer will we need to isolate the protein from donated human blood. We will no longer need to worry about human diseases such as HIV and hepatitis that are transmitted through contaminated samples. Soon all that will be required is to milk a heard of transgenic cows and isolate a specific protein. This is a much less expensive and much safer method than obtaining the specific protein from human blood sources. Using biological organisms as the chemical synthesis factory for a pharmaceutical is also more environmentally friendly, as waste-by products are naturally bio-degradable.
We’re already seeing the next generation of “pharming”. Agriculture and pharmaceutical industry will merge in many ways as a result of the recent biotechnological revolution. Recently, a Virginia company was awarded a significant amount of money to grow fields of transgenic tobacco, engineered to make specific human proteins. With the complete sequencing of the human genome, and the sequencing of the genome of many plant and other animal species complete or nearly so, new protein-based pharmaceuticals will be discovered and the genetic sequences for these proteins will be engineered into new host organisms. The jobs are present in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, and the market will continue to grow.
We need to prepare our graduates to be employable in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. This introductory course in biochemistry will give the students a familiarity with the types of molecules and systems used in modern biochemistry and biotechnology. It will introduce the students to the underlying concepts of how biological molecules behave and how we can manipulate the genome of another species to produce a specific molecule in industrially significant quantities.
This course will introduce you to the core concepts in biochemistry. Such topics include a brief introduction to cell biology and architecture, a general synopsis of the four main classes of biochemicals (lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids), simple enzymology, and a short introduction to metabolism, all in light of the topics covered in general chemistry. For example, acid base chemistry will be presented in light of amino acid and protein structure, where in a slight change in the pH can have drastic and often catastrophic effects. Likewise, the concept of Gibb’s free energy and LeChatlier’s principle will be emphasized as the driving forces behind basic metabolism. Basic metabolism will also be described as the chemical reduction of glucose, removing the electrons from this simple sugar and transferring them eventually to oxygen to make water, while generating energy for cellular uses along the way. Thus, the oxidation-reductions reactions involved in metabolism will be emphasized as the students learn about this class of chemical reactions in their general chemistry course. We will also cover some of the more recent advances in biotechnology, such as DNA fingerprinting, forensics, and cloning/engineering transgenic organisms. You will also learn the special considerations necessary when handling biochemicals, such as the need to keep enzymes on ice, and that living systems need to be kept alive!
The lecture course will complement topics covered in CH 138, giving biochemical applications of the concepts covered in general chemistry. The laboratory section would cover experiments using biochemicals to emphasize the core concepts and introduce the basic techniques used in biochemical laboratories. Throughout both the lecture and the laboratory portions of the course, technology will be heavily used, as students will learn the basic concepts behind computer-aided molecular modeling and data analysis. The graphical and three-dimensional manipulation of the complex biochemical structures will provide a visual tool to aid in understanding the chemical properties and reactivities of biological molecules.