Biophysical Chemistry I (184611-SoSe21)

The characterization of molecular structure, the measurement of molecular properties, and the observation of molecular behavior presents an enormous challenge for biological scientists. A wide range of biophysical techniques have been developed to study molecules in crystals, in solution, in cells, and in organisms. These biophysical techniques provide information about the electronic structure, size, shape, dynamics, polarity, and modes of interaction of biological molecules. Some of the most exciting techniques provide images of cells, subcellular structures, and even individual molecules. It is now possible, for example, to directly observe the biological behavior and physical properties of single protein or DNA molecules within a living cell and determine how the behavior of the single molecule influences the biological function of the organism.

Much biophysical research involves either the development of novel techniques to investigate the structure, properties, and biological functions of biomolecules or the application of these techniques to monitor how the structure and dynamics of biomolecules enables specific biological functions.

In this course, stu­dents ac­qui­re ad­van­ced know­ledge of selected state-of-the-art ex­pe­ri­men­tal me­thods and their ap­p­li­ca­ti­ons in bio­phy­si­cal che­mis­try with a focus on struc­tu­re de­ter­mi­ning me­thods.

Due to COVID restrictions, all lectures and exercises will be in zoom. The link will be provided in Moodle. Several invited guests will be lecturing on their own topics, such as NMR, cryo-EM and super resolution microscopy, providing both the theoretical basics of the technique as well as recent applications from their own groups.

Content of the course

• In­ter- and in­tra­mole­cu­lar in­ter­ac­tions, pro­te­in struc­tu­res: ran­dom coil, al­pha-he­lix, be­ta-sheet
• UV-vis and cir­cu­lar dich­roic spec­trosco­py (CD)
• Fluorescence methods, FRET (Foerster resonance energy transfer), FCS (fluorescence correlation spectroscopy)
• Super resolution microscopy (Single Molecule Localization Microscopy SMLM)
• X-ray
• cryo-EM (Cryo Electron Microscopy)
• NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance)
• EPR (Electron Spin Resonance)