Chemistry and Introductory Biochemistry

To provide to the students the necessary tools in order to known the structure and the behavior of biologically active molecules.
- The main types of bonds, the different classes of reactions, focusing on the kinetic and thermodynamic aspects will be the topics of general chemistry lessons. The organic chemistry lessons will be addressed to the understanding of the characteristic reactions of the functional groups, particularly focusing on the stereochemical aspects.
The introductory biochemistry topics will explain the behavior of molecules of biological interest (carbohydrates, lipids, aminoacids and proteins, nucleic acids).

At the end of the course the students:

- will learn the behavior of biologically active molecules, gaining the appreciation of the chemical transformations in the life processes.
- will know the characteristic reactions of different functional groups present in the organic compounds, mainly in the biomolecules, in order to understand from a molecular point of view the biological, physiological and pathological processes, which will be topics of more advanced courses.
- will understand the connections between chemistry and biology;
- will connect and integrate the theoretical knowledge about different chemical and biochemical concepts and apply them to subsequent course of biological chemistry and of other courses in the degree program;
- will expose and explain, in a simple but rigorous manner, the chemical and biological phenomena or processes that are the basis of life.