MCB C100A - Biophysical Chemistry: The Molecules of Life (4 Units)


Course Overview

Summary

The goal of this course is to give students the background in organic chemistry and biochemistry needed understand problems in synthetic biology, biomaterials, computational biology, and molecular imaging. Emphasis is on basic mechanisms. Students will learn aspects of organic and biochemistry required to begin the rational manipulation and/or design of biological systems and the molecules they are comprised of.


Professors

  • John Kuriyan
  • David Savage

    • Prerequisites

  • BioE 11 or Bio1A
  • Chem 3A
  • Chem 3B Recommended

    • What's next?

  • BioE 147
  • MCB 100B


    • Choosing the course

    What concentration is this course relevant to?

  • Cell and Tissue Engineering
  • Synthetic and Computational Biology

    • Topics covered

  • Molecular distributions
  • reaction kinetics
  • enzyme kinetics
  • Bioenergetics
  • energy transduction
  • motor proteins
  • Electrochemical potential

    • When should I take the course?

    The course is intended for undergraduate students (sophomore/junior recommended) who have a foundation in organic chemistry and biochemistry.


    Workload and Tips

    What is the workload and exam diffculty?

    Aside from lectures and discussions, expect to spend 8 hours/week on the weekly problem sets, doing the recommended readings, and reviewing lecture materials in general.

    There are 3 midterms and 1 final exam. The curves are generally harsh.


    What practical skills (for research/internship) can you gain from the class?

  • Helpful to know for understanding enzyme/DNA and enzyme/molecule interactions for practical real life synthetic biology research.
  • Very useful for MCAT, helps with research, is the gateway to a lot of other classes.

    • Tips from students who have taken the class

  • This class is a popular alternative to BioE103, but does NOT count as a fundamental in BioE major requirement.

    • Quick links

    Fall 2017 syllabus