Chemistry 303: The Role of Metals in Life – a new undergraduate class in bioinorganic chemistry
Professor: Nicolai Lehnert; 2807 Chem Office Hours: By Appointment, email: [email protected], phone: 615-3673 Class Hours: Monday, Wednesday: 12:00 – 1:00 pm, 1640 CHEM; Friday: 12:00 – 1:00 pm, 1650 CHEM
Topic Concepts Literature Sept. 08 General introduction to biomolecules: amino acids, Protein structure and Introductory textbooks to proteins folding, dynamics biochemistry Sept. 10 General introduction to biomolecules (cont.): nucleic Introductory textbooks to acids, DNA and RNA, cofactors biochemistry Sept. 13 Functions of metals in cells: metalloproteins: Gray et al., Chapter IV classification with respect to metals, function (molecular transport, catalysis, electron transfer, signaling), and cofactors Sept. 15 Functions of metals in cells (cont.): gene Gray et al., Chapters XIV.1 transcription, regulation of cell function, etc. XIV.2 Sept. 17 Group Theory: Symmetry elements and operations, Miessler/Tarr point groups Sept. 20 Group Theory (cont.): point groups, character tables Miessler/Tarr Sept. 22 Properties of transition metals: Metal oxidation and Ligand Field Theory Miessler/Tarr spin states, d-orbitals, octahedral complexes, high- and low-spin Sept. 24 Properties of transition metals (cont.): the MO Theory Miessler/Tarr coordinative bond, simple molecular orbital diagrams Sept. 27 Acid-Base Chemistry Hard and soft acids and Miessler/Tarr bases Sept. 29 Iron homeostasis: uptake and transport by transferrin Gray et al., Chapters V and in humans, transfer into cells VIII.1 Oct. 01 Iron Storage: ferritin - magnetic nanoparticles in your Quantum dots Gray et al., Chapters V and body! VIII.2 Oct. 04 Iron metabolism and bacterial infection: the hunt for Ligand binding constants, Gray et al., Chapter VIII.3 iron, siderophores, why do cells need all this iron? chemical equilibrium Oct. 06 Understanding the importance of iron: dioxygen Absorption spectroscopy Berg, Biochemistry, transport by red blood cells, hemoglobin, myoglobin Chapter 7, and Gray et al., Oct. 08 Understanding the importance of iron (cont.) Cooperativity Chapter XI.4 Oct. 11 Iron (cont.): diseases related to insufficient or What are genetic inflated iron uptake: anemia and hemochromatosis diseases? Oct. 13 Regulation of blood pressure: nitric oxide based Types of metal-ligand Gray et al., Chapter XIV.4, signaling, hypoxia sensing bonds Handout Oct. 15 Red blood cells (cont.): sickle cell anemia and Berg, Biochemistry, malaria: the ‘ethnicity’ of genetic diseases as a Chapter 7, Handout response to the environment Oct. 20 Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms: Associative and Miessler/Tarr dissociative ligand substitution, associated kinetics Oct. 22 Powering the cell: cytochrome c oxidase and ATP McKee, Biochemistry, production, aerobic respiration Chapter 10 and Gray et al., Chapters XI.6 and XI.8 Oct. 25 Other iron enzymes: cytochrome P450 and drug Gray et al., Chapters metabolism, biosynthesis of steroids XI.5.1, Handout Oct. 27 Other iron enzymes: electron transfer proteins: Electron tunneling in Gray et al., Chapters X.1 cytochrome c, iron-sulfur proteins proteins, what is a cluster? Oct. 29 Copper: homeostasis and storage, important copper Redox reactions, entatic Gray et al., Chapters proteins: blue copper state VIII.5, VIII.6 and X.1
Topic Concepts Literature Nov. 01 Copper: Menkes and Wilson’s disease Gray et al., Chapter VIII.5 Nov. 03 Zinc: homeostasis and storage, importance of Polarization of bound Gray et al., Chapters hydrolytic zinc proteins, carboanhydrase water: activation of ligands IX.1.3 and IX.2.4 Nov. 05 Zinc (cont.): Acrodermatitis enteropathica, Zinc Reading: ‘All I could do overload, Zinc proteins as bacterial defenses against was stand in the Woods’