CHIMICA FISICA DEI SISTEMI BIOLOGICI

Recalls of thermodynamics, kinetics and spectroscopy, liquid water structure, hydrophobic effect, liquid crystals. Differential Scanning Calorimetry: Principles, applications to conformational transitions. Circular Dicroism: Principles, applications to the determination of protein secondary structures. Statistical thermodynamics: Boltzman factor, system probability, partition function. Molecular Dynamics: Principles, force field, AA-MD, CG-MD, SMD, REMD, TI-MD, FEP-MD, data analysis. NMR Solid State: Principles, Spinning Magic Angle, 31P and 2H. ESR: Principles, Spin-label. X-ray Diffraction: Principles, determination of the three-dimensional structure of proteins. Fourier Transform: TF and TF properties, applications for NMR and IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Biological membranes: phospholipids, monolayers and bilayers and self-assembling phenomena, phospholipid bilayer structure, gel-liquid crystal phase transitions, structural characterization of bilayers, dynamic characterization of phospholipid bilayers, model membranes, spectroscopic and thermodynamic characterization of phospholipid bilayers. Protein: structure and properties of amino acids, peptide bond, protein structure, Ramachandran plot, folding problem, Lumry-Eyring model, three-dimensional determination of protein structures, protein dynamics, protein membrane interactions, spectroscopic and thermodynamic characterization of protein systems. Nuclear acids: structure and properties of DNA and RNA, interaction with small molecules, crystalline liquid phases, model systems, spectroscopic and thermodynamic characterization.

Applications of the above concepts to the molecular study of protein misfolding diseases.

At the beginning of the course the professor will provide all the notes of the lessons.