BIOCHEMISTRY
Instructor: Dr. Cathy Yang
Office: 304L Bosshart
Phone: 256-4500,ex. 3569
e-mail: yang@rowan.edu
Welcome to the study of the chemistry of life. As you venture into this exciting and
dynamic discipline, you’ll discover many new and wonderful things. You’ll learn how some
enzymes can catalyze chemical reactions at speeds close to theoretical limit_reactions that would
otherwise occur only at imperceptibly low rates. You’ll learn about the forces that maintain
biomolecular structure and how some of the weakest of those forces make life possible. And
you’ll learn how biochemistry has applications day-to-day life-in medicine, pharmaceuticals,
forensic science, agriculture, and biotechnology manufacturing. You will be amazed by the
enormous information of the revelation of human genome that will significantly advance our life
sciences. In short, you’ll begin a journey of discovery about how chemistry makes life both
possible and better.
Lectures: (2 per week): You are required to attend all lectures. Any changes in the course
format, exams, etc., will be announced in lectures and you will be held responsible to know these
changes. Attendance is of utmost importance since lectures will emphasize and clarify important
concepts. Please be prepared, and do not hesitate, to ask questions during lectures in order to
utilize them to their fullest potential. The textbook is encouraged to bring to every lecture since
figures and tables will sometimes used without reproduction on the blackboard.
Homework: Homework is designed to comprehend the concepts from lectures in various angles.
It is almost impossible to be successful in learning Biochemistry without practicing problems,
which will be assigned in chapter outlines. You are responsible to finish them in a timely fashion.
You are also highly recommended to use the summary of each chapter in Study Guide and
Problems Book before you starting to work on your problems.
Grading: There will be two midterms and one final examination for the course. Instructor must
be informed of an intended absence prior to the scheduled exam. Quizzes will be administered at
regular intervals. There will be no make-up for quizzes because the lowest score on the quizzes
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will be dropped. The quiz average will constitute 10% of your total grade. The three exam scores
will total 60% of the grade. The lab will be worth 20% and class participation will be 10% of the
total grade.
Assistance: Aid in understanding the material can be obtained from the following sources: your
text, other texts, student companion book, literature, your friends, library, computer internet and,
of course, the instructor. Don’t hesitate to ask (you can make appointments with the instructor),
seek help early. Office hours will be: 3:30-5:00PM, Tuesdays and Thursdays. In addition, study
groups are encouraged to form.
Text: Garrett & Grisham, Biochemistry, 2nd edition, Saunders College Publishing (1999)
Jemiolo, Study Guide and Problems Book, Saunders College Publishing (1999)
Course Coverage (tentative) :
Week
Topic
Reading
PART I: MOLECULAR COMPONENTS OF CELLS
1
2
3
4
5
6
Introduction
Molecular Basis
Thermodynamics
Amino Acids
Proteins and Their Biological Functions
Exploring Proteins
Proteins Structures
Carbohydrates and Lipids
Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids
Structure of Nucleic Acids
Recombinant DNA
Exam I
Ch. 1 and Ch 2
Ch. 3
Ch.4
Ch. 5
Ch. 5
Ch. 6
Ch. 7 and Ch. 8
Ch. 11
Ch. 12
Ch. 13
PART II: PROTEIN DYNAMICS
7
8
Enzymes: Catalysts and Regulators
Enzyme Kinetics
Enzyme Specificity and Regulation
Mechanisms of Enzyme Action
2
Ch. 14
Ch. 14
Ch. 15
Ch. 16
9
10
Enzymatic Chemistry
Regulatory Strategies
Molecular Motors
Exam II
suppl
suppl
Ch. 17
PART III: METABOLISM AND ITS REGULATION
11
12
13
14
15
Metabolism: Basic Concepts and Design
Glycolysis
Glycolysis
The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle
The TCA Cycle
Oxidative Phosphorylation I
Oxidative Phosphorylation
Review
Final
Ch. 18
Ch. 19
Ch. 19
Ch. 20
Ch. 20
Ch. 21
Ch. 21
Reference:
Mathews, C. K., van Holde, K. E. and Ahern, K. G., 1999. Biochemistry (3rd ed). Benjamin
Cummings.
Lehninger, N., 1993. Principles of Biochemistry (3rd ed). Worth.
Moran, L. A., Scringeou, G., and et. Al., 1994. Biochemistry (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Neil Paterson.
Zubay, G. L. Parson, W.W., and Vance, D. E., 1998. Biochemistry (4th ed). Dubuque, IA: Wm.
C. Brown Publishers.
Voet, D. and Voet, J., 1995. Biochemistry (2nd ed). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fersht, A., 1985. Enzyme Structure and Mechanisms (2nd ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and
Company.
Walsh, C., 1979. Enzymatic Reaction Mechanisms. W. H. Freeman and Company.
Dagas, A., 1989. Bioorganic Chemistry (2nd ed.). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Mizuno, Y., 1986. The Organic Chemistry of Nucleic Acids. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
Michal, G., 1999, Biochemical Pathways: An Atlas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
New York, Wiley Spektrum.
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Kuchel, P. W. and Ralston, G. B., Schaum’s ouTlines : Biochemistry (2nd ed), New York,
McGraw-Hill.
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