• General Information

  Instructor: Robert Blankenship

  Office: McD 232/LS 401B (Office Hours: TBA)

  Telephone #: (314) 935-7971

  e-mail: blankenship@wustl.edu

  Lecture: MW 8:30-10:00 (Louderman 461)

  Textbook: Biological Inorganic Chemistry Structure and Reactivity (2007) Bertini I, Gray HB, Stiefel EI, Valentine JS, Eds., University Science Books, Sausalito, CA. ISBN: 1-891389-43-2. Additional readings will be assigned from the primary literature and other sources.

Evaluation, Student Involvement, and Participation in Class: This is a small enrollment class taught at the current research level. It is essential that students be fully engaged in the class both by keeping current on assigned reading and also by participation in class discussion and presentations. Each student will have two opportunities to present material in class. One will be in the role as a co-presenter with the professor during the semester and one as a joint presentation with another student near the end of the semester. There will be one take-home exam sometime around spring break. Finally, there will be a final joint paper on the topic of the joint presentation.

Index

• Course Description:

A class in biological chemistry that emphasizes the role of metals in electron transfer and enzymatic catalysis. After a brief survey of essential concepts from biology, coordination chemistry, and spectroscopy, topics will include: electron transfer systems; oxygen transport and activation; metal ion acquisition, transport, and homeostasis; enzymes catalyzing atom transfer reactions and radial-mediated processes. Prereq: Chem 252; Chem 461 recommended but not required.

Index

• Course Calendar, tentative syllabus & Final Student Presentations:

Several regularly scheduled class periods have to be cancelled due to unavoidable conflicts. We plan to schedule makeup class perods at times that are available for the members of the class.

Date	Schedule	Final Student Presentations
January 14, 16	Course Introduction; Review of biochemistry and inorganic chemistry (Read BGSV pps. 657-712)	Date	Student	Topic
January 21	NO CLASS - Martin Luther King holiday	April 21	Intelly Lee	Lipoxygenase
January 23	Techniques : UV/Vis, EPR, Mössbauer, magnetisim, etc	April 21	Daniel Levin	CO Dehydrogenase?
January 28	NO CLASS	April 28	Hai Yue	Ribozymes
January 30	Techniques : Raman, FTIR	April 28	Tao Jian	Vitamin B 12 enzymes
February 4	Techniques: EPR, x-ray, etc.,	April 28	Yunjun Guo	Galactose oxidase
February 6	Metal ion transport (Peter Chivers, Guest Lecturer)	April 30	Richard Huang	Methionine synthase
February 11	Biogeochemical cycles	April 30	Xinliu Gao	Nitrate reductase and formate dehydrogenase
February 13	Metal ion storage
February 15	Electron transfer princples (David Beratan, Guest Lecturer) special class 9-10 am, place regular classroom Louderman 461
February 18	Biomineralization
February 20	Heme-containing Iron proteins
February 25	Heme protein biogenesis (Bob Kranz, Guest Lecturer)
February 27	Non-heme proteins
March 3	Photosynthesis
March 5	Respiration
March 10,12	SPRING BREAK
March 17	Nitrogen fixation
March 19	Hydrogen metabolism
March 24, 26	Oxygen metabolism and reactive oxygen chemistry
March 31	Hydrolases
April 2	Radical-containing enzymes
April 7	Signaling systems
April 9	Metals in medicine
April 14, 16	NO CLASS (Makeup classes will be scheduled on copper proteins, zinc proteins and TBA
April 21	Selected topics - student presentations
April 23	The role of iron and manganese in virulence and pathogenicity (Maitrayee Bhattacharyya, guest lecturer)
April 28	Selected topics - student presentations

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• Course Lecture Slides

Course Introduction A	Biomineralization	Hydrogenase	Ca Signaling System	Galactose Oxidase
Course Introduction B	Heme Proteins	Three's A Crowd	Symbotic N2 Fixation	Xanthine Oxidase
Course Introduction C	Kranz	Superoxide Dismutase	Metals Medicine	Mo enzymes
Course Introduction D	Non heme FE proteins	Reactive Oxygen	Cis Platin	Methionine synthase
Techniques A	Photosynthesis	O2 Binding	NSF Prop REB
Feb 6 Metalloregulation	PSII Hai Yue	Hydrolases	Final Papers Presentation
Techniques B	Respiration	Radical Proteins	Lipoxygenase
Biogeochem	Heavy Metal Tolerance	Ribnucleotide Reductase	Ribozymes
Storage and Transport	Nitrogenase	Zn Signaling	Cyanocoblamin

 

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