UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
Proposal Form for New or Revised Modules (MA1- version 4)
Approval information
Approval Type
Date of
Introduction/Change
New module
Discontinue module
Revised module
October 2011
If new, does this module
replace another? If so,
enter module code and
title:
If revised/discontinued,
Year 4 F108 Industrial Training Placement students will now take
please outline the rationale this module in their fourth year.
for the changes:
Confirmation that affected
departments have been
consulted:
None
Module Summary
1. Module Code (if known)
CH3A3
2. Module Title
Bio-Inorganic Chemistry
3. Lead department:
Chemistry
4. Name of module leader
Dr Claudia Blindauer
5. Level
UG:
PG:
Level 4 (Certificate)
Level 6 (Honours)
Level 7 (Masters)
Level 5 (Intermediate)
Level 8 (Doctoral)
See Guidance Notes for relationship to years of study
6. Credit value(s) (CATS)
7. Principal Module Aims
7.5 CATS
This module will examine the ways in which biological systems use the
specific chemical properties offered by the full range of elements in the
periodic table to perform a wide variety of functions, with a particular
focus on biologically relevant metal ions.
The module will introduce the chemical principles that govern the use of
essential metal ions in biological systems, and selected examples
will be discussed, to illustrate these principles.
1
Module Summary
The impact of bio-inorganic chemistry on human health will be discussed
in both the context of the consequences of aberrations in metal ion
housekeeping and the use of metallo-based drugs
8. Contact Hours
(summary)
15 hrs Total Lectures
2 hrs Total Examples Classes
9. Assessment methods
(summary)
100% Examined
2
Module Context
10. Please list all departments involved in the teaching of this module. If taught by more than
one department, please indicate percentage split.
Chemistry
11. Availability of module
Degree Code
F100
F101
F102
F105
F106
F107
F108
F121
F122
F125
F126
F127
F1N1
F1N2
BF91
B9F1
FC11
F1C1
Title
Study Year
C/OC/
A/B/C
Chemistry BSc
Chemistry BSc with Intercalated Year
General Chemistry BSc
Chemistry MChem
Chemistry MChem with Professional
Experience
Chemistry MChem with Intercalated Year
Chemistry MChem with Industrial Training
MChem
Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry BSc
Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry with
Intercalated Year BSc
Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry
MChem
Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry with
Professional Experience MChem
Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry
MChem with Intercalated Year
Chemistry with Management BSc
Chemistry with Management BSc with
Intercalated Year
Biomedical Chemistry BSc
Biomedical Chemistry BSc with Intercalated
Year
Chemical Biology MChem
Chemical Biology MChem with Intercalated
Year
Visiting Students
3
4
3
3
3
Core
Core
Option
Core
Core
3 or 4
4
Core
Core
7.5
7.5
3
4
Core
Core
7.5
7.5
3
Core
7.5
3
Core
7.5
3 or 4
Core
7.5
3
4
Option
Option
3
4
Core
Core
7.5
7.5
3
3 or 4
Core
Core
7.5
7.5
Credits
7.5
7.5
B 7.5
7.5
7.5
A
A
7.5
7.5
7.5
12. Minimum number of registered students required for module to run
10
13. Pre- and Post-Requisite Modules
Pre-requisites
CH267
Post-requisites
None
3
Module Content and Teaching
14. Teaching and Learning Activities
Lectures
Examples Classes
Tutorials
Laboratory sessions
Total contact hours
Module duration (weeks)
Other activity
15hrs total
2hrs total
17hrs total
5 weeks
58hrs self study, revision etc.
(please describe): e.g.
distance-learning, intensive
weekend teaching etc.
15. Assessment Method (Standard)
Type of assessment
Examinations
Assessed
essays/coursework
Other formal assessment
Visiting Students
Length
1.5 Hours
Words
% weighting
100%
VA AO
100%
16. Methods for providing feedback on assessment.
Marks for Examination to be provided via Personal Tutor.
17. Outline Syllabus
INTRODUCTION
The importance of metal ions in biology and their relative abundances in the body. Natural selection of
the elements, chemical limitation imposed by biological systems.
Relevant coordination chemistry principles (hard and soft acids and bases, stability constants, ligand
exchange rates).
Biological Ligands: Proteins, Nucleic Acids and Nucleotides, Porphyrins, related ligands, antibiotics.
ION TRANSPORT AND SIGNALLING
Importance of balanced distribution of elements, composition of cell membranes. Mechanisms of ion
transport: Ionophores, Channels, Pumps.
UPTAKE AND STORAGE
Why regulation of metal ion concentration is crucial in a biological system. Examples for metalloregulation;
the iron cycle, siderophores, transferrin, ferritin.
CONTROL OF PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS BY METAL IONS
Calmodulin: tuning of protein structure by metal binding. Cooperativity.
Zinc fingers: structural role of zinc, composition of binding sites, roles of zinc fingers, sequence-specific
DNA-recognition and artificial zinc fingers.
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Module Content and Teaching
METALLOPROTEINS AND METALLOENZYMES: HYDROLYTIC ENZYMES
Zinc. Properties and relevance to biology. Examples: carbonic anhydrase and carboxypeptidase A. The
importance of coordination number, electrostatics, and the enzymatic cavity. Model complexes.
METALLOPROTEINS AND METALLOENZYMES: OXYGEN CARRIERS
Dioxygen binding. Iron and copper. Haemoglobin and myoglobin: Structure, Physiological role,
Oxygenation Equilibria, Oxygen Coordination, MO Interpretation, Model Systems. Haemerythrin and
Haemocyanin.
METALLOPROTEINS AND METALLOENZYMES: REDOX CHEMISTRY
Biological electron transfer: Redox active metal centres. Iron and copper. Importance and overview of
range of standard potentials. Redox potentials and how to tune them. Iron-Sulfur Proteins: Rubredoxins,
2Fe Ferredoxins, Polynuclear Clusters. Heme proteins; Cytochromes, Cytochrome P-450. Non-heme Febinding enzymes: Methane monooxygenase and other oxygenases.
ELEMENTS IN MEDICINE
Introduction to medicinal inorganic chemistry. Metal-based anticancer drugs, including first, second and
third generation platinum complexes. Interaction of anticancer drugs with DNA. Gold Complexes in the
treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Further examples of metal-based drugs, diagnostic agents,
radionuclides in diagnosis and therapy.
18. Illustrative Bibliography
Shriver/Atkins, 5th Edn., Chapter 27.
J J R Frausto da Silva and R J P Williams, The Biological Chemistry of the Elements, Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1991. QD 2400.S4
W Kaim and B Schwederski, Bioinorganic Chemistry: Inorganic Elements in the Chemistry of Life, Wiley,
1994. QD 2400.K2
Lippard, S J, Berg J: ‘Principles of bioinorganic chemistry’, QD 2400.L4
Biological Inorganic Chemistry: Structure and Reactivity
by I. Bertini, H.B. Gray, E.I. Stiefel, J.S. Valentine (Editors), University Science Books, U.S. (2006).
Metals in Medicine
by James C Dabrowiak, Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2009
19. Learning outcomes
Successful completion of the module leads to the learning outcomes. The learning outcomes identify the
knowledge, skills and attributes developed by the module.
Learning Outcomes should be presented in the format ”By the end of the module students should be able
to...” using the table at the end of the module approval form:
5
Resources
20. List any additional requirements and indicate the outcome of any discussions about these.
Approval
21. Module leader’s
signature
Dr Claudia Blindauer
22. Date of approval
23. Name of Approving
Committee (include minute
reference if applicable)
LTC
24. Chair of Committee’s
signature
25. Head of Department(s)
Signature
Prof Mike Shipman
6
Examination Information
A1. Name of examiner (if
different from module
leader)
Dr Claudia Blindauer
A2. Indicate all available methods of assessment in the table below
% Examined
% Assessed by other methods
100%
Length of examination paper
1.5hrs
A3. Will this module be examined together with any other module (sectioned paper)? If so,
please give details below.
No
A4. How many papers will
the module be examined
by?
A5. When would you wish
the exam take place (e.g.
Jan, April, Summer)?
1 paper
2 papers
March
A6. Is reading time
required?
Yes
No
A7. Please specify any special exam timetable arrangements.
A8. Stationery requirements
No. of Answer books?
Graph paper?
Calculator?
Any other special
stationery requirements
(e.g. Data books, tables
etc)?
A9. Type of examination paper
Seen?
Yes
No
Open Book?
Yes
No
Restricted?
Yes
No
If restricted, please provide
a list of permitted texts:
7
LEARNING OUTCOMES
(By the end of the module the student should be able
to....)
Which teaching and learning methods
enable students to achieve this learning
outcome?
(reference activities in section 15)
Which summative assessment method(s) will
measure the achievement of this learning
outcome?
(reference activities in section 16)
Understand and rationalise roles that essential metal ions
play in biological systems: Control of protein structure and
dynamics, enzymatic catalysis, signalling.
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Examination
Understand the rationale for the selection of metal ions to
perform biological functions
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Examination
Identify metal-binding portions of biomolecules, recognise
and describe the differences between metal sites in small
molecule complexes and proteins.
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Understand the principles of metal ion homeostasis:
metalloregulation of gene expression and translation, metal
ion transport through membranes and cytosols
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Examination
Understand and rationalise the effects that the binding of
metal ions to proteins and nucleic acids has on the structure
and dynamics of biomolecular structures.
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Examination
Understand and rationalise the mode of actions of metal
ions in hydrolytic and redox metalloenzymes.
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Examination
8
LEARNING OUTCOMES
(By the end of the module the student should be able
to....)
Which teaching and learning methods
enable students to achieve this learning
outcome?
(reference activities in section 15)
Which summative assessment method(s) will
measure the achievement of this learning
outcome?
(reference activities in section 16)
Understand and rationalise the impact of metal binding
residues and protein environment (coordination numbers
and geometry, hydrophobic and electrostatic effects) on
reactivity of metal ions
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Examination
Understand and rationalise the mode of action and design
features of selected metallodrugs
Lectures, study problems and directed reading.
Study problems to be prepared by students and
discussed in examples classes
Examination
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