68469 - ELEMENTS OF BIOPHYSICS

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

At the end of the course, the student acquires the basic elements of biomolecular structure and function and the most appropriate models for their descriptions. In particular, the student acquires skills concerning: - Basic elements of cell biology; - Basic elements of structural and functional biology; - Basic notions of kinetics and thermodynamics for modelling relevant biological functions in Systems Biology.

Contenuti

• Thermodynamics Principles, State Variables and Spontaneous Processes.
• Transition Phase, Mixtures, Osmosis. Equilibrium Constant and Chemical Potential.
• Reaction Kinetics, Activation Energy, Enzymes and Michaelis-Menten Mechanism
• Proteins, Amino Acid Properties, Electronegativity and Chemical Bonds
• Protein Structure, Stabilizing interactions, Hydrophobic Effect and Protein-Protein Interactions
• Experimental techniques for structural determination: X-ray and NMR.
• Biological Systems: Signal transduction, Rhodopsin, Protein Sequence and Structure Comparison and Functional Genomics.

Testi/Bibliografia

Suggested readings, and material online.

• Biophysics: An Introduction (2° Edition). by Roland Glaser, Springer.
• Biophysical Chemistry by James P. Allen, Wiley.
• Molecular and Cellular Biophysics by Meyer B. Jackson, Cambridge University Press.

Metodi didattici

Lectures and exercises.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The assessment based on a project report and an oral exam. The aim is to evaluate the student's understanding of the learning outcomes of the course, focusing on the major aspects of the biological complexity.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Online resources available through UNIBO platforms and public websites.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Emidio Capriotti