AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Provide the fundamental knowledge to understand the relationships between the structures of molecules and their functions in the human organism. Acquire basic knowledge on organic macromolecules, chemical transformations and molecular interactions that take place in living beings with particular emphasis on human biochemistry and the applications of biochemistry to medicine and health-related disciplines. Contribute to the training of professionals who have non-superficial knowledge of the molecular basis of the biological and physiological processes of the human organism and of the alterations of these processes.

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching is performed by classroom-taught lessons with the aid of slides and through the constant use of the "visual presenter" for the writing of molecular structures and reactions. 
The teaching is held through lessons  in the classroom with the support of projected images . The material is made available to students in Aulaweb at the end of each lesson.To complete the morning lessons, the students, divided into four groups of about 60 students each, carry out numerical exercises and chemical reactions together with the teachers to self-assess their degree of basic knowledge and practical resolution of the problems posed. These exercises enable the student to solve the problems they will find in the written test of the final exam.

Any Student with documented Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), or with any special needs, shall reach out to the Lecturer(s) and to the dedicated SLD Representative in the Department before class begins, in order to liase and arrange the specific teaching methods and ensure proper achievement of the learning aims and outcomes.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Aqueous solutions and gas. Quantification of the concentration of solutions, colligative properties. Kynetics, thermodynamics, equilibria, Kc, Q, Kps,Kw, pH. Strong and weaks acids and bases, buffers. Hybridization of the carbon atom in different organic compounds. Hydrocarbons (alkanes and alkenes), chirality, resonance, combustion, redox potential,  redox reactions. Alchols, thiols, properties of the carbonylic group, tautomery. Carboxylic acids, esters, anhydrides, amines, amides. Polifunctional molecules, hydroxyl and ketoacids, amino acids and peptides, post-translational modifications of amino acids inthe proteins. Monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. Lipids: fatty acids, triacylglycerols, glycerolipids and sphingolipids, cholesterol. Omo ed eterocyclic aromatic compounds. Purine and pyrimidine bases, nucleosides, nucleotides, polynucleotides. Coenzymes of oxidoreduttases (NAD, NADP, FAD).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

All slides used during the lessons and other educational material will be available on AulaWeb at the end of each cycle of lectures / laboratory exercises along with other bibliographic material in pdf format.

The books indicated are suggested as a supporting text and are available and can be consulted together with other books for further information by the teacher.

Texts advised for further information:                                                                                                                        Brady, Holum-Fondamenti di Chimica-Ed. Zanichelli
Brown, Poon-Introduzione alla Chimica Organica con modelli molecolari-EDISES
Bettelheim, Brown, Campbell, Farrel-Chimica e Propedeutica Biochimica-EDISES
Tiziana Bellini - Chimica medica e propedeutica biochimica - Zanichelli

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SANTINA BRUZZONE (President)

MICHELA TONETTI (President)

ELENA ZOCCHI (President)

MIRKO BENVENUTI

GIANLUCA DAMONTE (President and Coordinator of Integrated Course)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons in the first semester of the first year will start from the first week of October. The lessons of this module will start on the first week of October 2024

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Each academic year the students have the possibility to attend seven sessions of a final written exam that lasts 1h and 30 min. This type of exam considers separately the skills acquired in inorganic chemistry on one hand and in organic chemistry/biomolecules. Specifically, the students have to solve problems of general chemistry, such as calculation of the pH, of the Kps or of the solubility product of a given solution, the equilibrium constant of a reversible chemical reaction, representation of the structure of the expected organic products obtained starting from reagents containing different functional groups and depiction of possible molecular structures that correspond to a specific traditional or scientific name of organic molecules.The maximal value attributed to each of the proposed exercises is stated to allow the students to assess if the problems that they have carried out are sufficient to pass the exam for both parts (general chemistry and organic chemistry/biomolecules).  The student can access the exam of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry if she/he has passed the exam of Chemistry and Propedeutical Biochemistry

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Details on how to prepare for the exam and the degree of detail required for each topic will be provided at the beginning of the course and confirmed during lectures and exercises. The exam is written. To avoid that the students crib the exam answers from other students, the teachers propose different versions of the exam. After the revision of the exercises, the students can discuss with the teachers their mistakes and the relevant judgment obtained. This method limits the possibility that a student pass the exam with a swindle and help them to clarify their mistakes with a better chance to get ready in a further session. The rules for taking the exam and the minimum scores that must be obtained for each part that constitutes the written test (general chemistry, organic chemistry, biomolecules) for passing the written test are exposed by the teachers at the beginning of the course and are reported in an informative pdf file present in AulaWeb. Moreover the teachers are available to follow personally the students that encounter more  difficulties in the study of specific topics of this course.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Attendance at lectures and exercises is mandatory