2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Life Science and Technology Undergraduate major in Life Science and Technology
Bioorganic Chemistry
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Life Science and Technology
- Instructor(s)
- Kohji Seio / Hideya Yuasa / Kiyohiko Kawai / Akihiro Ohkubo / Hiroshi Tsutsumi
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 7-8 Mon / 7-8 Thu
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LST.A333
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 24, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course focuses on the organic chemistry of biomolecules. Topics include organic chemistry of carbohydrates, amino acids, nucleic acids, and conjugate molecules of them. This course is useful for future chemists and biologists.
This course requires no prerequisites, but the students are expected to have preliminary knowledge of basic organic chemistry.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to
1) correctly draw chemical structures of carbohydrates, amino acids, nucleic acids and lipids.
2) find important functional groups in these molecules and understand their chemical reactivity.
3) illustrate the functions of the biomolecules and their conjugates from the view points of organic chemistry.
4) propose the synthetic procedures of the biomolecules.
Keywords
organic chemistry, peptide, nucleic acids , lipids, bioconjugates, photochemistry
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This class will be conducted face-to-face. At the beginning of each class, the previous class is reviewed. Towards the end of class, students are given exercise problems and quizzes related to the lecture given that day to solve.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction: Life and organic chemistry, amino acids | Understand concepts and reactions of basic organic chemistry. Draw chemical structures of amino acids and predict their chemical properties. |
| Class 2 | Chemical synthesis of amino acids | Draw reaction mechanisms of the synthetic reactions of amino acids and protected amino acids. |
| Class 3 | Chemical synthesis of polypeptides | Draw reaction mechanisms of the synthetic reactions of polypeptides |
| Class 4 | Nomenclature and structures of carbohydates | Draw chemical structures of carbohydrates and name them according to IUPAC rules |
| Class 5 | Reduction and oxidation of carbohydarates | Draw reaction mechanisms of reduction and oxidation reactions of carbohydarates |
| Class 6 | Formation and degradation of glycosidic bonds | Draw reaction mechanisms of formation and degradation of glycosidic bonds |
| Class 7 | Comprehension test (amino acids/peptides, carbohydrates) | Answer the problems of organic chemistry of amino acids/peptides, and carbohydrates) |
| Class 8 | Structures and properties of nucleosides and nucleotides | Draw chemical structures of nucleotides and predict their chemical properties |
| Class 9 | Duplex structure of nucleic acids | Explain duplex structure using chemical structure and three dimensional structure |
| Class 10 | Chemical synthesis of oligonucleotides | Draw reaction mechanisms of the synthetic reactions of oligonucleotides |
| Class 11 | Photochemistry of nucleic acids（１） | Understand basic photochemistry, and draw the structure of products and reaction mechanisms |
| Class 12 | Photochemistry of nucleic acids（２） | Understand photochemistry of nucleic acids, and draw the structures of products. |
| Class 13 | Photochemistry of nucleic acids（3） | Understand photochemical reactions, and be able to explain their applications. |
| Class 14 | Examination | Examination |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Organic Chemistry, 8th Edition
Peter C. Vollhardt, Neil E. Schore
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Organic Chemistry, 8th Edition
Study Guide/Solutions Manual for Organic Chemistry
by K. Peter C. Vollhardt and Neil E. Schore
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students' knowledge of organic chemistry of the biomolecules, and their ability to apply them to problems will be evaluated by test (x2, 70%), and exercise or mini-test (30%). The grades will be evaluated by submitting assignments when moved to on-line style.
Related courses
- LST.A202 ： Organic Chemistry I (alkanes and haloalkanes)
- LST.A207 ： Organic Chemistry II (alcohols and alkenes)
- LST.A212 ： Organic Chemistry III (benzene and ketones)
- LST.A217 ： Organic Chemistry IV (carbonyl compounds and amines)
- LST.A343 ： Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Prerequisites
Needing no prerequisite qualifications.
Other
The course will be conducted in person.
The number of registration may be limited or the class may be changed to on-line style when necessary.