BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY AND PHOTO(BIO)CHEMISTRY - MOD. 1

The course falls within the core educational activities of the Master Study Programme in Chemistry and Sustainable Technologies, which allow the student to deal with a chemical problem in its various articulations and with consistent use of the current technical-scientific language. The specific training objective of the module is to provide advanced knowledge on bioinorganic chemistry, in particular regarding: 1) occurrence, availability and uptake of inorganic elements in living systems; 2) structures, reactivity and roles of bioinorganic metal complexes; 3) transition metal complexes as drugs. The course aims to develop skills that allow students to understand advanced functions of living systems, with view to bio-inspired compounds of interest for sustainable chemical processes and technology. Another aim of the course is to provide knowledge about the design of advanced metal-based pharmaceuticals.

1. Knowledge and understanding.
I) Knowing the occurrence, distribution and uptake of inorganic elements in the living systems.
II) Knowing the main roles of inorganic elements in living systems.
II) Knowing the common biological ligands and their affinity towards metal centres.
IV) Understanding the relationships between bioionorganic structures and roles in the living systems.
V) Knowing and understanding the actions of selected metal-based pharmaceuticals.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding.
I) Being able to logically interpret the biological activity of a metal complex.
II) Being able to interpret the structure-activity relationship of a metal drug.
III) Being able frame the reactivity of bio-inspired metal compounds in terms of sustainability.
3. Ability to judge
I) Being able to evaluate the biological activity of metal ions on changing the coordination sphere.
II) Being able to recognize the possible action of a metal drug on the basis of its molecular structure.
III) Being able to recognize analogies between synthetic and biological metal compounds.
4. Communication skills
I) Being able to use the appropriate scientific-technical terminology to discuss the course contents.
II) Being able to interact constructively with the teacher and with the other students.
5. Learning skills
I) Being able to autonomously synthesize the salient aspects of the concepts expressed in class.
II) Being able to make logical connections between the topics of the course.

The prerequisite is to have achieved the training objectives of the three-year degree course in Chemistry (or strictly related courses). It is necessary for the student to know the basic concepts concerning atomistic and chemical bonding. The student must also be familiar with the chemistry of the elements and with basic organic, biological and coordination chemistry.

In relation to the training objectives and expected learning outcomes, shown in the relevant sections, the contents of the course can be divided as follows:
1) Occurrence, availability and main roles of inorganic elements in the organisms.
2) Bioligands (proteins, macrocycles, nucleic acids and their derivatives, polyphosphates, siderophores).
3) Biomineralization (calcium phosphate and iron storage in particular).
4) Uptake and transport of oxygen (heme and non-heme iron proteins, hemocyanin, model systems).
5) Metalloenzymes involved in oxygen metabolism (monooxygenases, oxygenases, peroxidases, superoxide dismutases).
6) Metalloproteins involved in electron transfer (cytochromes, blue copper proteins, iron-sulphur proteins).
7) Iron, molybdenum and vanadium in the fixation of nitrogen.
8) Enzymes involved in hydrolysis reactions (nickel urease, zinc-containing enzymes).
9) Bio-organometallic chemistry (cobalamins and their reactions, organometallic nickel complexes).
10) Selected transition metal-based drugs, contrast agents and radiopharmaceuticals.
The arguments will be extended with examples of related bio-inspired metal complexes for sustainable chemical processes and technology. In selected cases, the role of inorganic p-block trace elements crucial for life will be also described.

For the study and the deepening:
I) Teaching materials, available at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B6EkDs_UUlhBbjVNNkI5MVNqYkE?usp=sharing
II) W. Kaim, B. Schwederski, A. Klein, Bioinorganic Chemistry: Inorganic Elements In the Chemistry of Life; 2nd ed., Wiley, 2013.
III) J. Ribas Gispert, Coordination Chemistry; Wiley-VCH, 2008.
IV) C. E. Housecroft, A. G. Sharpe, Inorganic Chemistry; 5th ed., Pearson, 2018.

The assessment of learning takes place through an oral test, common with the Photochemistry module of the course, which consists of a series of questions to which the student must respond by demonstrating to know and be able to expose the topics of the entire program (see the content section) with correct language and use of scientific chemistry symbols. The oral exam lasts from 30 minutes to 45 minutes depending upon the clarity and consistency of the answers to the questions asked. There are at least three questions.

Teaching is organized in lectures including examples. In Google Drive educational material concerning lectures is available and downloadable. Lectures will be scheduled by means of the Moodle platform. The platform will be also used for communication with the students, in particular if further deepening on selected topics is required by the class.

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Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion
Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments:
Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). In the case of disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.
Structure and content of the course could change as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.

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This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Natural capital and environmental quality" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development