Università degli Studi di Napoli "Parthenope"

  1. Teaching
  2. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
  3. ENZIMOLOGY

Stampa

ENZIMOLOGY

Teaching schedule

Academic year: 
2015/2016
Belonging course: 
Course of Bachelor's Degree Programme on BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Disciplinary sector: 
BIOCHEMISTRY (BIO/10)
Language: 
Italian
Credits: 
6
Year of study: 
3
Teachers: 
MASULLO Mariorosario
Dott.ssa DI DONATO Paola
Cycle: 
Second semester
Hours of front activity: 
48

Language

Italian

Course description

Acquisition of knowledge about the structure, function and regulation of the enzymes.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of reaction kinetics and Biochemistry.

Syllabus

Reaction kineticsCollision theory and activation energy. Order and molecularity of reactions. Kinetics law for zero-order and first-order reactions. Activation energy. Arrhenius equation. EnzymesClassification of enzymes. Thermodynamic and structural aspects of enzymatic catalysis. General acidic and basic catalysis, electrostatic and covalent catalysis, proximity catalysis. Reactions with more than one substrates. Effect of pH and temperature on enzymatic activity. Methods for the dosage of enzyme activity: unit of measurement and specific activity. Methods for enzyme purification. Enzyme kineticsHypothesis of steady state. Michaelis-Menten's equation. Meaning of Km and Vmax. Data interpolation methods to derive the kinetic parameters. Number of turnover. Catalytic efficiency. Enzyme inhibitionReversible and irreversible enzyme inhibitors. Cooperativity and enzyme activity regulation. Allosteric enzymes. Enzymes as reagentsBiocatalysis and industrial enzymology. Immobilization and stabilization techniques. Industrial applications of enzymes as biocatalysts. Biosensors, miniaturized analytical systems.

The enzymology course provides deep knowledge on the structure and activity of enzymes. Particular emphasis will be devoted to the mechanisms of the regulation of the enzyme activity and the methodologies for their identification. Finally, the main use of enzymes as reagents also in industrial applications, will be envisaged.

Teaching Methods

The course includes classroom lectures.

Textbooks

NELSON D.L., COX M.M., “Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry”, Macmillan Education Eds.

Learning assessment

Interim verification tests consisting of multiple-choice and open-ended questions, on topics faced up to the time of the test.The final exam consists of a written test including multiple-choice and open-ended questions on all the contents of the course. Admission to the oral examination is subject to passing the written test.The assessment of written tests will take into account differential scores between multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The oral examination consists in verifying the structural and functional knowledge of biomolecules, metabolic pathways and their regulation.

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