| CODE | BIO0101 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Foundation Course in Biochemistry | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 00 - Mod Pre-Tert, Foundation, Proficiency & DegreePlus | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 3 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Biology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The topics to be covered in this study-unit include: 1. The unique properties of water, its dipolar nature, importance as a solvent and its biological significance. 2. Carbohydrates to include monosaccharides (including hexoses and pentoses), disaccharides (including sucrose, maltose and lactose) and polysaccharides (including starch, glycogen and cellulose). 3. Lipids to include alkonic acids (fatty acids), propane 1- 2- 3 triol (glycerol), trigylcerides and their roles as energy stores. Phospholipids, hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. Steroids. 4. Amino acids, peptide linkages and polypeptide chains, proteins. Primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins. Importance of shape in protein function. 5. Nucleic acids: DNA and RNA. 6. Vitamins and their roles as co-enzymes, NAD+/NADH, NADP+/NADPH, FAD/FADH2 and CoA-SH. 7. Energy rich compounds especially ATP and creatine phosphate. 8. Enzymes as organic catalysts. Energy changes in chemical reactions and activation energy. Enzyme structure and function. Formation of enzyme substrate complexes. Factors affecting the rate of enzyme catalysed reactions. Allosteric control. Competitive and non-competitive inhibition. Feedback control. 9. Metabolic rates and factors affecting them: Metabolic pathways in cellular respiration. 10. The electron transport chain and ATP generation. Oxygen as a hydrogen acceptor. Role of inner and outer mitochondrial membranes in generation of a proton gradient. 11. Production of lactic acid and ethanol during anaerobic respiration. 12. The liver and its role in carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism. 13. Brief introduction of the biochemistry of photosynthesis. 14. Practical work to include chemical tests for reducing and non-reducing sugars, starch, lipids and proteins. Experiments to investigate the effect of temperature, pH, enzyme and substrate concentration. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Students are to note that they will be allowed to sit for this study-unit examination and will be awarded a grade only if they have regularly attended lectures and practical classes, if they have submitted any assignments, including practical reports and if they satisfy all other study-unit requirements. | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Practical | ||||||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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