Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
---|---|---|---|
2502444 Chemistry | OT | 4 | 0 |
To take this subject, students must have previously passed the subjects Structure and Reactivity of Organic Compounds, Synthetic Methods and Organic Synthesis Laboratory
The general objective of the subject of Bioorganic Chemistry is to provide students with an overview of natural products (structural and biosynthetic characteristics, ecological and their applications as a source of bioactive compounds). Basic insights into the chemical structure and biosynthesis of natural products, as well as their function and usefulness as drugs and other products of interest, will be provided.
The training objectives of the subject can be summarized in:
1. To understand and know the structures of the natural products of secondary metabolism and their biosynthesis
2. To know the importance of natural products for their biological and pharmacological activity
3. To know the ecological, pharmacological importance and the general utility of natural products
4. To provide tools to students so that they can propose reasonable biosynthetic routes for natural products
Topic 1. Biosynthetic Routes
Primary and secondary metabolism. Main biosynthetic routes: shikimate, acetate, mevalonate. Methods used in the study of biosynthetic sequences.
Topic 2. Semiochemicals
Ecological Chemistry. Classification of semiochemicals. Plant-insect interactions. Allelopathy. Phytoalexins. Pheromones.
Topic 3. Fatty acids and polyketides
The acetate hypothesis. Saturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids. Aromatic polyketides. Macrolides.
Topic 4. Shikimic acid derivatives
Phenolic compounds. Aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine) and derivatives. Transamination, NIH shift. Cinnamic acids and derivatives. Pharmacological applications: L-DOPA, salicin as a model of aspirin. Lignans and lignin. Flavonoids.
Topic 5. Terpenoids
Structural classification. The acetate-mevalonate route. Monoterpens. Sesquiterpenes. Diterpens. Steroids. Cholesterol.
Topic 6. Secondary metabolism of amino acids
Prebiotic formation of amino acids. β-lactam antibiotics. Penicillins and cephalosporins.
Topic 7. Alkaloids I
Alkaloids derived from ornithine, lysine and nicotinic acid. Alkaloids derived from the shikimate route. Physiological effects and pharmacological applications of alkaloids such as cocaine, nicotine, hyosciamine, hyoscine, atropine, ephedrine, mescaline.
Topic 8. Alkaloids II
Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids. Opium alkaloids (thebaine, morphine, codeine), physiological effects and biosynthesis. Curare and strychnine. Quinine: the best remedy against malaria. The caffeine stimulant.
The Virtual Campus will be used for delivering the necessary material to the students, according to the professor criterion. This material will include: the course program, exercises and problems to be solved, copies of the classroom presentations, etc.
Along the course, the student should participate in various formative activities, with the aim of acquiring the established knowledge and skills. Three kind of activities will be developed:
1.- In-person or virtual theoretical classes: Students will receive a series of knowledge articulated exclusively by the teacher. During these classes the teacher will transmit the basic knowledge of the subject, which must be complemented by consulting the material accessible through the virtual campus and the corresponding bibliography, as well as participating and carrying out the scheduled activities. Time will also be devoted to resolving student doubts and discussing the most relevant aspects of each topic. During these classes, the participation of students will be encouraged through the resolution of cases and questions on a regular basis.
2.- In-person or virtual problem classes: During the course sheets of exercises will be delivered to the students that they will have to solve. In the face-to-face or virtual problem classes, the solutions proposed by the students from their autonomous work will be discussed. Special emphasis will be placed on the active participation of students.
3.- Laboratory sessions: There will be 4 sessions of 4 hours each of laboratory practices related to the subjects of the course. The student will become familiar with a series of basic laboratory techniques related to the extraction and handling of natural products and chemical reagents, as well as the use of small equipment and instrumental techniques. The laboratory work will be supervised by the professor who will evaluate the students,considering their attention and performance in the laboratory, as well as the reports and laboratory notebooks made. A student involved in an incident that may cause serious security consequences can be excluded from the laboratory and suspend the course.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|
Type: Directed | |||
Practical classes | 16 | 0.64 | 1, 4, 23, 2, 20, 17, 25, 18, 24, 32, 34, 29, 31, 39, 38, 36, 37 |
Theoretical classes | 35 | 1.4 | 19, 3, 4, 9, 7, 6, 8, 11, 20, 21, 14, 13, 16, 15, 22, 31 |
Type: Supervised | |||
Tutorials | 5 | 0.2 | 9, 11, 21, 25, 26, 27, 31 |
Type: Autonomous | |||
Learning and problem resolution | 87.2 | 3.49 | 5, 3, 4, 9, 7, 6, 8, 10, 11, 21, 14, 13, 16, 15, 22, 30, 28, 35 |
With the aim of encouraging the constant student work to favor the learning, a continuous evaluation will be applied. This methodology will inform the professor about the content’s assimilation by the student as well as their ability to apply them to problem solving. The evaluation will be done individually through two modules, which include written tests and laboratory practices, each of which will have assigned a specific weight in the final grade.
It will be mandatory obtaining ≥5.0 points out of 10 in the global evaluation to pass the course.
The non-assessable: A student receives the grade of non-assessable if he did not attend any written test and if he did not attend any of the laboratory practices.
1. Written test module (85%)
Along the course, two partial exams of compulsory realization will be programmed with the aim of evaluating the student knowledge related to the theoretical and practical subjects of the course, as well as their capacity to solve problems.
First partial test: It will evaluate the content of approximately 50% of the global subject of the course. It will formulate both theoretical and practical questions (problem solving) and will contribute in a 42.5% in the overall mark of the continuous evaluation. In this exam a minimum of 5 points out of 10 must be obtained to be able to average with the other qualifications of the evaluation.
Second partial test: It will evaluate the content of approximately 50% of the global subject of the course. It will formulate both theoretical and practical questions (problem solving), as well as questions relate to the laboratory sessions, and will contribute in a 42.5% in the overall mark of the continuous evaluation. In this exam a minimum of 5 points out of 10 must be obtained to be able to average with the other qualifications of the evaluation.
2. Laboratory Module (15%)
Attending all the laboratory sessions is mandatory. The students will deliver assessable reports on the performed experiments and the laboratory skill will be also considered.
To pass the course in the first instance, it will be mandatory obtaining 5/10 points in every partial test (being the final mark of the module the simple average of the grade of the two partial tests) and a minimum average mark of 5/10 (85% tests + 15% laboratory).
Second-chance Examination
The students who did not pass the continuous evaluation will have the opportunity to perform a second-chance exam, which will have two different parts, corresponding to the matter of the first and second partial exams, respectively.* To pass the course, it will be mandatory obtaining 5/10 points in each of the parts of the second-chance exam and the final qualification will be, in this case, the weighted average between the mark of this exam (42.5% for each part) and the mark of the laboratory module (15%).
* The students who did not pass the continuous evaluation, but have obtained a minimum of 7/10 points in one of the partial tests, will be exempt of doing the corresponding part of the second-chance exam and will keep the same mark for averaging with the other marks of the evaluation.
To be eligible for the second-chance exam, any student should have been previously evaluated in a set of activities corresponding to a minimum of 2/3 of the overall qualification of the course. Hence, it will be mandatory to make the two partial tests to be entitled to the recovery of any of them.
Students who pass the continuous evaluation but want to improve their final mark may participate in any of the parts of the second-chance examination. In this case, if the tests are delivered, the previous marks will not be considered.
Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Laboratory Module | 15% | 1.1 | 0.04 | 1, 19, 33, 23, 2, 20, 21, 17, 25, 18, 12, 24, 32, 34, 22, 26, 27, 29, 39, 38, 36, 35, 37 |
Written Test Module | 85% | 5.7 | 0.23 | 5, 3, 4, 9, 7, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 13, 16, 15, 27, 30, 28, 31 |
Medicinal natural products. A biosynthetic approach. P. M. Dewick, Jonh Wiley & Sons, 2002. Electronic version in the Science Library.
Natural products their chemistry and biological significance.J. Mann, R.S. Davidson, J. B. Hobbs, D. V. Banthorphe and J.B. Harborne. Pearson Education Limited. 1994. ISBN 0-582-06009-5
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