GENERAL CHEMISTRY AND BIOCHEMISTRY (UNIT C)

General chemistry
Physical and chemical transformations, elements and compounds. Atom components; ions. Atomic and molecular mass; mole. Electronic configuration of elements. Periodic Table of Elements.
Chemical bonding: ionic, covalent bonding. Shape and polarity of water, methane and ammonia molecules. Hydrogen bonding and other intermolecular forces.
Water as a solvent. Properties of solutions. Expressing solute concentration in percent fractions w/w, w/v, molarity. Significance of osmotic pressure.
Chemical kinetics: molecular collisions theory and activation energy. Factors affecting the chemical reaction rate: presence of catalysts. Free energy (G) and spontaneity of reactions. Enzymes, coenzymes and biological oxidation-reduction reactions.
Chemical equilibrium. The equilibrium constant and Le Chatelier’s principle.
Ionic dissociation of water, definition of pH. Acidic and basic compounds, acid-base equilibria. Strength of acids and bases.  The effect of a buffer solution; physiological buffer systems.
Organic chemistry and propedeutic biochemistry.
Hydrocarbons: aliphatic and aromatic compounds, nomenclature.
Functional groups: classification and features. Alcohols, ethers, aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amines.
Principal carbohydrates: monosaccharides (glucose, fructose), disaccharides, polysaccharides. Lipids: fatty acids, glycerides. Amminoacids and proteins, the peptide bond. Notions of protein structure. Composition and structure of nucleic acids.
Thermodynamics of biological reactions. ATP and cellular metabolism. Oxidation and degradation reactions, biosynthetic reactions.