Admission requirements
Core course in MSc Life Science and Technology (LST, Molecular Sciences series).
A BSc degree in the Life Sciences or equivalent degree is needed for admission. You should be familiar with fundamental concepts in general chemistry; acid/base, kinetics, thermodynamics, oxidation/reduction, functional groups. These will be qualitatively used throughout the course. The contents of Chapter 2 of the book (Clayden) must be entirely familiar to you, study it beforehand if this is not the case.
Note: Students who obtained their BSc degree in MST and followed Biomolecular Chemistry will find this course redundant. They are advised to take another organic chemistry elective, such as Synthetic Organic Chemistry (4012SOCH5) or Molecules of Life (4423MOFL6).
Description
This course addresses fundamental concepts in the biosynthesis of molecules and pharmaceutical applications of these concepts. The biosynthesis of amino acids, nucleic acids, lipids, steroids and carbohydrates will be addressed from a mechanistic and reactivity point of view. We will also cover how enzymes catalyse these reactions through the use of amino acids and co-factors. We will also touch upon the use of biosynthetic compounds as pharmaceuticals and their mechanism of action.
Course objectives
After the course the student is able to:
Know the name, structure, one letter code of all proteinogenic amino acids.
Understand the reactivity of each proteinogenic amino acid in the context of enzyme catalysis.
Understand the role of high-energy intermediates in biosynthesis.
Know the structures of Nature’s building blocks: amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, nucleotides, and nucleic acids
Know how these biomolecules are biosynthesized
Understand the how biomolecules can be degraded
Be able to propose a biosynthetic mechanism given a known reactant and product.
Know how proteins are biosynthesized and their potential post-translational modifications.
Be familiar with different types of molecules/drugs able to hijack biosynthetic pathways.
Be able to propose a mechanism of action for a pharmaceutical molecule given its structure and molecular target.
Understand the methods used to determine biosynthetic routes and mechanisms.
Timetable
Schedule information can be found on the website of the programmes
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
The course consists on 13-15 Lectures on campus where the course material is described and the biosynthetic mechanism and reactivities are discussed. Students can prepare for these lectures by studying selected Chapters from ‘The Organic Chemistry of Biological Pathways’ by McMurry and Begley
Assessment method
Written exam (closed book).
Reading list
"Organic Chemistry" by Clayden, Greeves and Warren, 2nd edition (ISBN 9780199270293).
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Dr. Marta Artola Perez de Azanza
Remarks
According to OER article 4.8, students are entitled to view their marked examination for a period of 30 days following the publication of the results of a written examination. Students should contact the lecturer to make an appointment for such an inspection session.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.