Classroom lectures will be given with the aid of PowerPoint presentations.
Assessment Methods
Examination will consist in an oral presentation lasting about 30 minutes, with the help of PowerPoint projections, of a research conducted by deepening/expanding a topic covered in class. The speech will followed by a discussion on the presentation and on the course program. The final grade will be out of thirty and will result in the accreditation of 4 cfu.
Contents
1.Introduction. Primordial atmosphere. Bioavailability. Recalls on the structure and properties of biomolecules. The active site of a metal-protein. Structural or catalytic function. Recalls on enzymatic catalysis. Biomimicry 2.Zinc. Carbonic anhydrase. Carboxypeptidase. Alcohol dehydrogenase. Zinc fingers and DNA. The role of zinc in the insulin metabolism. Toxic elements of the group zinc: Cd and Hg. Other toxic metals: Pb, Cr. 3.Copper. Oxygen carriers. Blue-copper proteins and electron transport. Superoxide dismutase (Zn, Cu-SOD). 4.Iron. Heme and non-heme iron-protein. Oxygen carriers: myoglobin, hemoglobin, eritrocruorin. Plant symbiotic and not symbiotic hemoglobin. Bacterial hemoglobin: flavohemoglobin. Iron-sulfur proteins. Rubredoxin. Siderophores. Convergent evolution and SOD (Cu/Zn, Fe, Ni, Mn). Cytochromes
