LEARNING MATERIALS
Subject: Chemistry / Medicine
Unit: Applied Biochemistry
Theme: Science
Topic 1: Applied Biochemistry
Level: 3
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, Subject: Chemistry / Medicine
Unit: Applied Biochemistry
Topic 1: Applied Biochemistry
Level: 3
LEARNING MATERIALS
Contents
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Introduction .................................................................................................... 1
1. Anabolic and catabolic reactions ........................................................ 2
2. Biomolecules ......................................................................................... 5
2.1 Carbohydrates..................................................................................... 5
2.1.1 Monosaccharides ..................................................................... 6
2.1.2 Disaccharides .......................................................................... 7
2.1.3 Condensation Reactions .......................................................... 7
2.1.4 Hydrolysis Reactions ............................................................... 8
2.1.5 Polysaccharides....................................................................... 9
2.1.6 Biological functions of carbohydrates ..................................... 11
2.2 Lipids ................................................................................................ 11
2.2.1 Fats (Triglycerides) ................................................................ 12
2.2.2 Phospholipids ........................................................................ 14
2.2.3 Steroids ................................................................................. 15
2.3 Proteins ............................................................................................. 15
2.4 Reagent Tests Used to Identify Biomolecules ................................... 21
3. Enzymes ............................................................................................... 25
3.1 Enzyme Specificity ............................................................................ 26
3.2 Catalytic power.................................................................................. 27
3.3 Active site.......................................................................................... 28
3.4 Energy conversion ............................................................................ 29
3.5 Factors affecting enzyme activity ...................................................... 29
3.5.1 The effects of temperature on enzyme activity ....................... 30
3.5.1 Concept of Q10 (the temperature Co-efficient) ........................ 31
3.5.1 The effects of pH on enzyme activity ..................................... 32
4.6.3 Inhibition ......................................................................................................... 33
4. Nucleic acids ....................................................................................... 35
4.1 Structure of DNA Heading ................................................................. 35
4.1.1 Base units .............................................................................. 37
The Double helix ............................................................................... 38
4.2 Structure of RNA ............................................................................... 40
4.3 DNA replication ................................................................................. 42
4.3.1 DNA directionality .................................................................. 42
© DistanceLearningCentre.com, 2022
, Subject: Chemistry / Medicine
Unit: Applied Biochemistry
Topic 1: Applied Biochemistry
Level: 3
LEARNING MATERIALS
4.3.2 Process of DNA replication .................................................... 42
5. Protein synthesis ................................................................................ 45
5.1 Transcription ..................................................................................... 45
5.2 Translation ........................................................................................ 46
6. Basic Principles of gene cloning and DNA analysis ........................ 48
6.1 Isolating the Gene ............................................................................. 51
6.2 Producing recombinant DNA ............................................................. 51
6.3 Checking the host cells ..................................................................... 52
6.4 Producing the recombinant human gene. .......................................... 54
6.5 Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology ................................. 54
6.6 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) ................................................... 55
6.6.1 The Uses of PCR ................................................................... 56
6.7 Agarose Gel Electrophoresis ............................................................. 57
6.8 Applications of gel electrophoresis .................................................... 59
References and bibliography ...................................................................... 61
Recommended reading ............................................................................... 61
DLC resources ............................................................................................. 61
Credits .......................................................................................................... 61
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