Four hourly exams and a final exam are used to evaluate student performance. It is possible to obtain a fourth credit hour by attending an extra series of lectures once a week, and writing a research paper. Enzyme Kinetics and Ligand Binding. 570 or equivalent. Physical chemistry is strongly recommended.
Problem sets constitute an important component of the course.
570 and 573, or equivalent. Physical chemistry is strongly recommended. Introduction to the general principles of enzyme catalysis, including general acid and base catalysis, covalent catalysis, and strain and distortion aspects of catalysis. Selected examples to illustrate those principles will include proteases, discussing kinetics, covalent intermediates, mechanism of catalysis at the active site, and inhibition. Other topics will include isotope effects, stereochemistry, cofactors, and prosthetic groups involved in catalysis with appropriate enzymatic examples such as redox transformations, pyridoxal phosphate catalyzed reactions, and phosphoryl transfer.