Aminoacids, peptides and proteins: Amino acids: structure, acid-base chemistry, and chemical synthesis; peptide bond formation and coupling reagents-carbodiimides and phosphonium reagents; orthogonal protecting groups; solid-phase peptide synthesis: (Fmoc/Boc strategies); native peptide ligation; cyclic peptides; amino acid analysis and peptide sequencing; brief introduction to ribosomal protein synthesis; combinatorial chemistry; enzyme chemistry: proteases and phosphotases; proteins as drug targets.

Carbohydrates: Introduction to carbohydrates; structure, configuration and conformation; common protecting groups and protecting group strategies; glycosylation: general concepts, various methods of glycoside bond formation; strategies in oligosaccharide synthesis: automated and enzymatic approaches; glycoconjugates: glycolipids and glycoproteins; fundamentals of glycobiology; tools for glycomics; carbohydrate based drug discovery.

Nucleosides, nucleotides and nucleic acids: Introduction to nucleic acids: biological importance, discovery, structure; chemical synthesis of nucleosides and protecting groups for nucleobase, sugar and phosophates; solution and solid phase synthesis of oligonucleotides: phosphotriester, H-phosphonate and phosphoramidite strategies; DNA Processing Enzymes: DNA polymerases, ligases, restriction endonucleases, PCR; enzymatic synthesis of nucleic acids; principle behind sequencing; nucleic acid as drug targets; quadruplex nucleic acids; nucleic acids based enzymes: ribozymes, DNA enzymes and riboswitches; nucleic acid based therapeutic strategies: antisense, RNA interference and aptamers; DNA damage and repair.

Student Presentations

1. P. Lloyd-Williams, F. Albericio, E. Giralt, Chemical Approaches to the Synthesis of Peptides and Proteins, 1st Edition, CRC Press, Boca Raton,1997
2. S. Doonan, Peptides and Proteins, 1st Edition, RSC Publishing House, London, 2002
3. T. Bugg, An Introduction to Enzyme and Coenzyme Chemistry, 2nd Edition, Blackwell Science, Oxford, 2004
4. B. G. Davis & A.J. Farbanks, Carbohydrate Chemistry, 1st Edition, Oxford University Press, 2002
5. R. V. Stick., Carbohydrates: The Essential Molecules of Life, 2nd Edition, Academic Press, 2009
6. D. E. Levy and P. Fugedi, The Organic Chemistry of Sugars, CRC Press, 2006
7. G. M. Blackburn, M. J. Gait, D. Loakes, D. M. Williams, Nucleic Acids in Chemistry and Biology, 3rd Edition, RSC Publishing, London, 2006
8. S. Doonan, Nucleic Acids, 1st Edition, RSC Publishing House, London, 2000
9. A. Lehninger, D. L. Nelson, Cox, M. M. Principles of Biochemistry, 5th Edition, W.H Freeman, 2008