11262 - Chemistry of the Macromolecules

Course contents

1.    The frontier of biological chemistry see increasing contributions from
a) nano-single-molecule methods;
b) approaches and methodologies of the supramolecular chemistry.

 

2.    The chemical bond and the intermolecular interactions: the role of water
• ionic interactions;
• van der Waals forces;
• the hydrogen bond;
• the hydrophobic interactions.
The codes that drive the supramolecular assembly is encoded in the stereochemical structure of the individual molecules.

 

3.    Macromolecules
a) Synthetic polymers.
b) Statistical mechanics of polymer chains: which form takes a polymer chain?

 

4.    The DNA polymer
4.1 The primary structure of DNA
4.2 The secondary structure of DNA
a) The formation of the double helix
b) The sequence modulates locally the curvature, the flexibility of the DNA chain and also its B-Watson/Crick structure
c) DNA-protein recognition is driven by the structural changes of the canonical B structure and by its mechanical properties: direct and indirect recognition mechanisms.
4.3 The tertiary structure of DNA

 

5.    Polypeptide polymers
5.1 Structural elements and structures of proteins
5.2 The protein folding Fine modulo

 

Office hours

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