General Biochemistry

The course provides the required terminology and fundamental principles for the study of the metabolic processes that will be developed in the course of the third year Metabolic and Functional Biochemistry. In particular, the aim of the course of General Biochemistry is to lead the student through a path that allows him to acquire the knowledge related to:
- structure, chemical-physical properties, and functions of the main "simple" organic biomolecules (amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleotides) of specific relevance for the human being;
- chemical-physical bases that promote the assembly of these "simple" organic biomolecules to form macromolecules and functional supramolecular complexes (proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, biological membranes) so as to understand the structure-function relationship;
- bioenergetics in the human being: mechanisms for energy extraction, conservation and utilization;
- kinetics of chemical reactions, functions and regulation of enzymes.
The course also provides for the basic principles related to the biochemistry of informational macromolecules (DNA, RNA and proteins) with notions concerning their structure, properties, metabolism and cellular functions.

At the end of the course of General Biochemistry, the student will have acquired the terminology and will have the knowledge of the structure, chemical-physical properties, and functions of the main organic biomolecules of specific relevance for the human being. The student will have also learned the principles of the thermodynamic and kinetic control of the chemical reactions occurring in human cells, and the basic principles of the transmission of information contained in the genome.