semmelweis university 2 0 1 2 / 2 0 1 3

4. Sequence determination of natural polymers (polypeptides, polynucleotides,
e.g. the human genom).
5. The role of the isoprene unit in the construction of terpenes carotenoids and steroids.
6. Biomimetic transformation in the chemistry of iridoid compounds.
7. Chemistry of alkaloids derived from the coupling of biogenic amines
(phenylethylamine and tryptamine) with secologanin.
8. Total synthesis of natural products (e.g. vitamin B12, gingkolide).
9. Solid phase synthesis of polypeptides and polynucleotides.
10. Total synthesis of saccharides, sassharides in total synthesis.
11. Cosmogenesis and molecular evolution of organic molecules.
BIOINORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Institute of Inorganic Chemistry (ELTE)
SEMMELWEIS UNIVERSITY / FACULTY OF PHARMACY
During the last two decades our knowledge on the behavior of metals and some nonmetals (e.g.
boron, silicon, selenium) has widened considerably. As a result of this the cooperation between
inorganic chemists, biochemists and biologists became most involved and a new multidisciplinary
branch of natural sciences developed that is termed bioinorganic chemistry or inorganic
biochemistry.
It is rather difficult to mark the boundaries of this discipline since it includes biological metabolic
processes and syntheses where metal ions and/or metal complexes are involved as well as ion
transport, biomineralization, metal toxicity, chelate therapy, and the application of metal
complexes in the treatment of different conditions.
In order to understand all aspects of the material discussed in the course a brief summary is given
on metal coordination compounds: on their sterochemistry, equilibria and kinetics.
A rather fascinating problem is how certain metal ions have been selected during a long
evolutionary process for biological purposes, and how the various metal containing systems
developed due to the change of the geoenvironment.
The biosystems take up metals and non-metals from the geosphere. The entry of an element into
the living system and its incorporation into a specific site of a biomolecule is a multistep process
controlled both by thermodynamic and kinetic factors. This will be demonstrated on many
examples including metal ions, anions, and neutral molecules.
In the following topics the roles of bioessential metals are dealt with. Many physiological
phenomena are connected to the biochemistry of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium,
e.g. the conduction of nerve impulses, muscle contraction, and blood clotting.
Zinc metalloenzymes are most abundant in the living organism and catalyze a large number of
hydrolitic and group transfer reactions. Iron, copper and molybdenum take part in many bioredox
processes, and the former two metals also in the transport of molecular oxygen. Also, cobalt,
manganese, chromium, nickel and vanadium have their roles in important biochemical processes.
Transition metals are needed to activate small molecules as CO2, N2 and O2. The biochemistry of
the latters is an intriguing topic of bioinorganic chemistry. The deposition of certain solid inorganic
compounds (CaCO3, Ca-phosphates, etc.) in the organism is under biological control and worth
dealing with briefly.
Faculty of
Pharmacy
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