Bioorganic chemistry
Graduate · Chemistry
Syllabus focus
Standard syllabus · STEM / applied
Pricing
Graduate-level rates are set on consultation. See the pricing page for K–12 and undergraduate rates.
Topics typically covered
Standard syllabus
Peptide and protein chemistry
- Solid-phase peptide synthesis: Fmoc and Boc strategies
- Protecting group chemistry for amino acid side chains
- Native chemical ligation and expressed protein ligation
- Protein folding thermodynamics and kinetics
- Unnatural amino acids and genetic code expansion
- Post-translational modifications: glycosylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination
- Chemical probes for protein function
- Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP)
- Stapled peptides and peptide mimetics
- Proteomics sample preparation and mass spectrometry
Nucleic acid chemistry
- Phosphoramidite DNA/RNA synthesis
- Modified nucleotides for therapeutics and diagnostics
- CRISPR chemistry: guide RNA and Cas9 mechanism
- Antisense oligonucleotides and siRNA
- DNA damage and repair chemistry
- G-quadruplexes and non-canonical structures
- Click chemistry for nucleic acid labeling
- Ribozymes and deoxyribozymes
- Aptamer selection (SELEX) and applications
- Epigenetic modifications: 5-methylcytosine, hydroxymethylation
Enzyme mechanism and inhibition
- Active site architecture and catalytic residues
- Covalent vs non-covalent enzyme inhibition
- Mechanism-based (suicide) inhibitors
- Transition state analog inhibitors
- Allosteric regulation and cooperativity models
- Cofactor chemistry: PLP, thiamine pyrophosphate, biotin
- Radical SAM enzymes and radical mechanisms
- Metalloenzyme mechanisms: zinc, iron, copper enzymes
- Kinase inhibitors in drug discovery
- Protease inhibitors: HIV protease, caspases
Chemical biology tools
- Bioorthogonal chemistry: click reactions in cells
- Photopharmacology and caged compounds
- Fluorescent probes and biosensors
- Chemogenomics and target identification
- Metabolic labeling and flux analysis
- Glycobiology: glycan synthesis and profiling
- Lipidomics and lipid chemical biology
- Chemical inducers of dimerization
- DNA-encoded libraries for screening
- Ethical considerations in chemical biology research
STEM / applied
Laboratory and research methods
- Peptide synthesis and HPLC purification
- Enzyme kinetics assays and IC₅₀ determination
- Cell-based assays for chemical probes
- Mass spectrometry for protein identification
- NMR of biomolecules: assignment strategies
- X-ray crystallography of protein–ligand complexes (data interpretation)
- Molecular docking and structure-based design
- Chemical synthesis of bioactive natural products
- Literature analysis of bioorganic papers
- Grant writing for chemical biology projects
Applied bioorganic chemistry
- Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) linker chemistry
- Stapled peptide therapeutics in clinical trials
- mRNA vaccine chemistry and lipid nanoparticles
- CRISPR therapeutic delivery chemistry
- Biosimilar and biologic drug development
- Agricultural bioorganic chemistry: herbicide targets
- Industrial enzyme engineering and directed evolution
- Diagnostics: ELISA, lateral flow, molecular beacons
- Startups in chemical biology and biotech
- Career paths in pharma, biotech, and academic chemical biology
Notes
Graduate-level bioorganic chemistry. Topics reflect common bioorganic chemistry syllabi at US research universities. Strong organic chemistry and biochemistry background required.