2020/2021

2020/2021

DM270

CHIM/06 (ORGANIC CHEMISTRY)

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY "LAZZARO SPALLANZANI"

ADVANCED BIOTECHNOLOGY

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

2nd semester (01/03/2021 - 14/06/2021)

6

48 lesson hours

Italian

ORAL TEST

PORTA ALESSIO (titolare) - 6 ECTS

Knowledge of basic organic chemistry, functional groups and carbon-carbon bond formation.

Know and understand the main metabolic pathways of secondary metabolism.

This course provides a groundwork in natural product chemistry/phytochemistry by considering biosynthesis, the metabolic sequences leading to various selected classes of natural products. This allows application of fundamental chemical principles and displays the relationships between the diverse structures encountered in nature, thus providing a rationale for natural products and replacing a descriptive approach with one based more on deductive reasoning. It also helps to transform complicated structures into a comprehensible combination of simpler fragments; natural product structures can be quite complex.
The introduction is used to outline the main building blocks, the basic construction mechanisms employed in the biosynthesis of natural products, and how metabolic pathways are deduced. Most of the fundamental principles should be familiar and will have been met previously in courses dealing with the basics of organic chemistry and biochemistry. These principles are then seen in action as representative natural product structures are described in this course. The topics selected are subdivided initially into areas of metabolism fed by the acetate, shikimate, mevalonate, methylerythritol phosphate pathways and finally alkaloids. For some metabolites the metabolic pathway will be described using labelled compounds (13C, 18O, etc.).
Another important task in this course regard advanced biocatalysis, in particular bioconversions, biotransformations and enzymes classification.
Some mechanisms will be treated, in particular enantiodifferentiations and examples of hydrolysis such as chymotrypsin mechanism. Other particular aspects will be: enzymes in organic solvents, immobilization of enzymes on a polymeric matrix.
Finally some lessons will be held dealing with “on-line” bibliographic research tools.

48 hours of lectures in the classroom, with many questions and interactions with the students.

P. M. Dewick, “Chimica, Biosintesi e Bioattività delle Sostanze Naturali”, Padova, Piccin, 2001.
T. Hudlicky and J. W. Reed, “The Way of Synthesis”, Wiley-VCH, 2007.

Oral examination with a presentation focused on a secondary metabolite.

Oral examination with a presentation focused on a secondary metabolite.