Course syllabus for Biochemistry and biotechnology

Course syllabus adopted 2024-01-31 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameBiokemi och bioteknik
  • CodeKBT016
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTIKEL
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyBioengineering, Chemical Engineering
  • DepartmentBIOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language English
  • Application code 64113
  • Maximum participants37 (at least 10% of the seats are reserved for exchange students)
  • Open for exchange studentsYes
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0116 Laboratory 1.5 c
Grading: UG
1.5 c0 c0 c0 c0 c0 c
0216 Examination 6 c
Grading: TH
6 c0 c0 c0 c0 c0 c
  • 28 Okt 2024 pm J DIG
  • 08 Jan 2025 am J DIG
  • 19 Aug 2025 pm J DIG

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

The same as for the programme that owns the course.
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

LKT032/033/034 General and inorganic chemistry, LKT105 Organic chemistry and LKT053 Physical chemistry, or equivalent.

Aim

- To convey basic knowledge of biochemical structures and reactions, and provide insights into biochemical separation methods.
- To provide an introduction to biotechnology by giving knowledge of genetic engineering, microbiology and microbial cultivation as well as giving insight into some important biotechnological processes.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

The student should be able to
- identify the basis of the molecular structure of various classes of biomolecules and describe these biomolecules regarding composition, structural characteristics and function
- describe prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells regarding composition and structure and describe the molecular principles of transport and enzymatic catalysis 
- describe the principles of growth of microorganisms and microbial cultivation, calculate cultivation parameters and give examples and describe biotechnological production using microorganisms and/or enzymes
- describe how information stored in DNA is replicated and how this information is used to produce proteins via transcription and translation and how this knowledge can be used in molecular biotechnology and recombinant DNA technology
- describe the basic principles of cellular metabolism and its regulation, the function of the central metabolic pathways and how ATP is produced in different biological systems
- perform laboratory work in Biochemistry/Biology/Molecular Biology

Content

The following parts are included:
Cells: The structure and organization of a living cell. Structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, function of various organelles, plant cells and animal cells, growth and culturing of cells.
Structure of biomolecules: Amino acids, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, fatty acids and nucleic acids. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Allosteric enzymes, allosteric control and enzyme kinetics according to the Michaelis-Menten model. Biochemical separation.
Bioenergetics and metabolism: The driving force behind biochemical reactions. Energy-conserving processes such as oxidative phosphorylation and photophosphorylation. Pathways for catabolism. Regulation of biochemical processes.
Information: The molecular processes of prokaryotic and eukaryotic replication, transcription and translation. Regulation of gene expression.
Biotechnology: Biotechnological production using microorganisms. The basics of recombinant DNA technology. Restriction enzymes. Vectors. Cloning. DNA library. PCR. Transgenic organisms.
Laboratory work that illustrates important course elements: Photophosphorylation, microbial culture, Restriction enzyme mapping of plasmid.

Organisation

The course consists of lectures, exercises, assignments and compulsory laboratory exercises that can be reported through written reports or seminars that illustrate the content presented in the lectures.

Literature

John L Tymoczko, Jeremy M Berg, Lubert Stryer, Biochemistry: A Short Course, 4th Ed, International Edition. ISBN 9781319248086

Examination including compulsory elements

Written exam with grading 3, 4, and 5 and performed and passed laboratory work and home assignments.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.