INTRODUCTORY BIOCHEMISTRY:
Hybridization of the carbon atom - sp3, sp2, sp hybridizations and their geometry.
Hydrocarbons and saturated hydrocarbons - alkanes and cycloalkanes. Nomenclature. Conformational isomerism and geometric isomerism (cis-trans).
Unsaturated hydrocarbons: alkenes and alkynes. Nomenclature. Reactions of unsaturated hydrocarbons (overview).
Aromatic compounds - Structure of benzene: the resonance model. Nomenclature of aromatic compounds. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (overview).
Alcohols, phenols, thiols - Nomenclature. Acidity and basicity of alcohols and phenols. Thiols, analogues of alcohols and phenols.
Aldehydes and ketones - Nomenclature. Preparations of aldehydes and ketones. The carbonyl group. The nucleophilic addition to the carbonyl groups; formation of semiacetals and acetals. The aldol condensation (overview).
Carboxylic acids and their derivatives - Nomenclature of acids. Derivatives of carboxylic acids: esters, amides. Mechanism of esterification; triesters of glycerol.
Amines and other nitrogen compounds - Classification of amines and nomenclature. Maine basicity.
Stereoisomery - Chirality. Enantiomers. Polarized light; the polarimeter (overview). Diastereomers.

BIOCHEMISTRY:
Carbohydrates - Definitions and classification. The monosaccharides. Chirality in monosaccharides; Fischer's projections. Cyclic structures of monosaccharides. Anomers. Phenomenon of mutarotation. Pyranosic and furanosic structures.
Lipids - Structure, nomenclature, properties and biological functions
Nitrogen bases and nucleotides -Structure, nomenclature and biological functions.
Proteins - Amino acids and their properties.-Peptide bond. Primary structure. Non-protein amino acids. Secondary structure: alpha helix, beta sheet, loops and beta turn. Tertiary and quaternary structure: hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic effect. Misfolding and related pathologies. Generic structure of fibrous and globular proteins. Techniques for the analysis and purification of proteins
Enzyme kinetics - steady state. The Michaelis-Menten equation. Meaning of Km. Catalytic efficiency: meaning of kcat / Km. Reciprocal Doubles Graph. Classification of enzymes. Inhibitors: competitive and uncompetitive inhibition. Mechanisms and graphs of reciprocal doubles. The inhibitors: a-competitive (pure non-competitive) and mixed (non-competitive) inhibition. Irreversible inhibitors and suicide inhibitors. - The transport and storage of oxygen.
Myoglobin - structure and function.
Hemoglobin - structure and function. The Bohr effect; the effect of 2,3 BPG; the transport of CO2 and NO. Introduction to the theory of protein-ligand interaction: case of only 1 site. Case of n fully cooperative sites. General case. Concerted and sequential model. Effects of point mutations.
Membrane lipids. Cholesterol. Lipids-signal and cofactors: eicosanoids, steroid hormones, fat-soluble vitamins. Architecture of biological membranes: composition of membranes, common properties of membranes, the bilayer sheet, types of proteins in biological membranes. Dynamics of biological membranes. Transport across biological membranes: simple diffusion and passive transport, glucose transporter, chloride-bicarbonate exchanger, active transport, sodium-glucose symports, aquaporins.
Vitamins - historical introduction. Fat-soluble vitamins structure, function, avitaminosis, hypervitaminosis. Water-soluble vitamins structure, function avitaminosis.
Bioenergetics - free energy in biochemical reactions. Standard free energy and Keq free energy. Examples.
Glycolysis. Pentose phosphate pathway. Coordinated control of glucose metabolism. Lactic fermentation and alcoholic fermentation. Anaerobic metabolism and caries. The Krebs cycle. Glycogen metabolism and its regulation. Glycogen storage diseases.
Physiological digestion of fats. Lipoproteins - structure and function of chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL and HDL. Glucagon-induced fat mobilization: roles of triacylglycerol lipase and perilipin. Activation of fatty acids and transport across the mitochondrial membrane. Carnitine. Beta-oxidation of saturated fatty acids, even. Examples. Ketogenesis. Beta-oxidation of unsaturated and odd fatty acids.
Protein digestion - role of pH and digestive enzymes. Alanine-glucose cycle. Transamination, oxidative deamination, non-oxidative deamination. Glutammine-synthetase: role and its regulation.
Urea cycle.
Overview of branched amino acids catabolism and "maple syrup" urine disease. Catabolism of glycine and serine.
Overview of nitrogenous bases catabolism - excess uric acid and gout.
The metabolism of heme - introduction to biosynthesis (the glycine pathway, the synthesis of δ-aminolevulinate and the formation of porphobilinogen). The porphyrias. Notes on the catabolism of EME and its degradation to biliverdin and bilirubin.
Chemiosmotic coupling - general principles; the change in free energy associated with the flow of electrons and protons; ATP synthase as an energy transducer. Electron transporters: nicotinamide and flavin nucleotides; ubiquinone; cytochromes; iron-sulfur proteins; complexes I, II, III, IV; Q cycle; respirasome. ATP synthase (structure and catalysis; ATP synthase as molecular motor). Inhibitors and uncouplers of respiratory chain.

• Chemistry 10th edition, Kenneth W. Whitten/Raymond E. Davis/Larry Peck/George G. Stanley.
• Foundations of College Chemistry, 14 Edition, Hein M, Arena S. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
• Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, Nelson D. Cox Michael M.

GENERAL AND INORGANIC CHEMISTRY:
Introductory notes - Periodic table of the elements and its meaning: Inorganic nomenclature: acids, bases, salts. Balance of a chemical reaction. Concept of mole, Avogadro number.
Constitution of the atom - Elementary particles: proton, neutron, electron. Isotopes. Electrons and electronic configuration of atoms. Quantum numbers and orbitals. Auf-bau. The chemical bond: covalent, ionic, dative. Hybridization. Weak bonds: ion-dipole, Van der Waals, hydrogen bond. Electronegativity.
States of matter - Gas: equation of state of ideal gases. Absolute temperature and relationship with the average molecular speed. Gaseous mixtures; Dalton's law. Liquids: vapor pressure of a liquid. Solids: structural characteristics of covalent, ionic, molecular solids. Metallic solids (outline).
Chemical thermodynamics - Concept of state function. Internal energy of a system. Enthalpy, Hess's law. Entropy. Free energy.
Solutions - Concentration of solutions: % by weight, mole fraction, molarity, molality, normality. Dilutions and mixing of solutions. Vapor pressure of a liquid-liquid solution (Raoult's law). Ideal solutions. Colligative properties: variation of vapor pressure, of melting and boiling temperatures; osmosis and osmotic pressure. Solubility of gases in liquids: Henry's law.
Chemical equilibrium - Equilibrium in the gas phase. Expression of the equilibrium constant. Relationship between Kc and Kp. Factors that influence the balance. Homogeneous and heterogeneous equilibria.
Electrolyte Solutions - Strong and Weak Electrolytes; degree of dissociation. Colligative properties of electrolyte solutions; combination of Van’t Hoff. Acids and bases according to Arrenius, Bronsted and Lowry, Lewis. Strong and weak acids and bases. Ionic dissociation of water. Kw. Equilibrium constant of an acid and a base. Relationship between the equilibrium constant and the degree of dissociation of a weak electrolyte: Oswald's law of dilution. The pH; calculation of pH in solutions of strong and weak acids (and bases). Saline hydrolysis. Buffer solutions. Dissociation of polyprotic acids (outlines). Acid-base titrations.
Chemical Kinetics - Introduction to Kinetics; activated complex theory; activation energy. Kinetic equations
Redox reactions and electrochemical potentials - Oxidation number. Redox reactions and their balance. Standard reduction potentials.

BIOCHEMISTRY:
Carbohydrates - Definitions and classification. The monosaccharides. Chirality in monosaccharides; Fischer's projections. Cyclic structures of monosaccharides. Anomers. Phenomenon of mutarotation. Pyranosic and furanosic structures.
Lipids - Structure, nomenclature, properties and biological functions
Nitrogen bases and nucleotides -Structure, nomenclature and biological functions.
Proteins - Amino acids and their properties.-Peptide bond. Primary structure. Non-protein amino acids. Secondary structure: alpha helix, beta sheet, loops and beta turn. Tertiary and quaternary structure: hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic effect. Misfolding and related pathologies. Generic structure of fibrous and globular proteins. Techniques for the analysis and purification of proteins
Enzyme kinetics - steady state. The Michaelis-Menten equation. Meaning of Km. Catalytic efficiency: meaning of kcat / Km. Reciprocal Doubles Graph. Classification of enzymes. Inhibitors: competitive and uncompetitive inhibition. Mechanisms and graphs of reciprocal doubles. The inhibitors: a-competitive (pure non-competitive) and mixed (non-competitive) inhibition. Irreversible inhibitors and suicide inhibitors. - The transport and storage of oxygen.
Myoglobin - structure and function.
Hemoglobin - structure and function. The Bohr effect; the effect of 2,3 BPG; the transport of CO2 and NO. Introduction to the theory of protein-ligand interaction: case of only 1 site. Case of n fully cooperative sites. General case. Concerted and sequential model. Effects of point mutations.
Membrane lipids. Cholesterol. Lipids-signal and cofactors: eicosanoids, steroid hormones, fat-soluble vitamins. Architecture of biological membranes: composition of membranes, common properties of membranes, the bilayer sheet, types of proteins in biological membranes. Dynamics of biological membranes. Transport across biological membranes: simple diffusion and passive transport, glucose transporter, chloride-bicarbonate exchanger, active transport, sodium-glucose symports, aquaporins.
Vitamins - historical introduction. Fat-soluble vitamins structure, function, avitaminosis, hypervitaminosis. Water-soluble vitamins structure, function avitaminosis.
Bioenergetics - free energy in biochemical reactions. Standard free energy and Keq free energy. Examples.
Glycolysis. Pentose phosphate pathway. Coordinated control of glucose metabolism. Lactic fermentation and alcoholic fermentation. Anaerobic metabolism and caries. The Krebs cycle. Glycogen metabolism and its regulation. Glycogen storage diseases.
Physiological digestion of fats. Lipoproteins - structure and function of chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL and HDL. Glucagon-induced fat mobilization: roles of triacylglycerol lipase and perilipin. Activation of fatty acids and transport across the mitochondrial membrane. Carnitine. Beta-oxidation of saturated fatty acids, even. Examples. Ketogenesis. Beta-oxidation of unsaturated and odd fatty acids.
Protein digestion - role of pH and digestive enzymes. Alanine-glucose cycle. Transamination, oxidative deamination, non-oxidative deamination. Glutammine-synthetase: role and its regulation.
Urea cycle.
Overview of branched amino acids catabolism and "maple syrup" urine disease. Catabolism of glycine and serine.
Overview of nitrogenous bases catabolism - excess uric acid and gout.
The metabolism of heme - introduction to biosynthesis (the glycine pathway, the synthesis of δ-aminolevulinate and the formation of porphobilinogen). The porphyrias. Notes on the catabolism of EME and its degradation to biliverdin and bilirubin.
Chemiosmotic coupling - general principles; the change in free energy associated with the flow of electrons and protons; ATP synthase as an energy transducer. Electron transporters: nicotinamide and flavin nucleotides; ubiquinone; cytochromes; iron-sulfur proteins; complexes I, II, III, IV; Q cycle; respirasome. ATP synthase (structure and catalysis; ATP synthase as molecular motor). Inhibitors and uncouplers of respiratory chain.

• Chemistry 10th edition, Kenneth W. Whitten/Raymond E. Davis/Larry Peck/George G. Stanley.
• Foundations of College Chemistry, 14 Edition, Hein M, Arena S. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
• Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, Nelson D. Cox Michael M.