Objectives:
The course aims to provide students with adequate theoretical and practical knowledge sufficient to use a variety of biophysical methods on molecular biology systems. The course will provide an understanding of the physical principles underpinning the techniques, as well as describing their technology and their applications. As this is a practical course, an important goal is to give students practical training through demonstrations, laboratory exercises and data analyses, as well as providing training in presenting the data in the form of report writing.
Content:
The course will focus on CW domain, a protein domain which is actively researched at the Department of Molecular Biology and at other research institutes. The CW-domain is part of a larger enzyme that bind to histones and performs specific acetylation. It is an important protein within epigenetic studies. Four methods will be applied to the protein-domain. Thermal stability monitored by tryptophan fluorescence, Surface Plasmon Resonance for quantification of binding kinetics and binding constants, Isothermal Calorimetry for quantitating binding and solving thermodynamic parameters of the system, and finally high resolution NMR for tracking the specific amino acids involved in the binding of the ligand
On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The student can explain
Skills
The students can ...
General competence
The student is able to
Structural Molecular Biology (MOL310).
MOL310 can be taken in parallel.
Reports from laboratory exercises and demonstrations (30%) and written exam, 4 hours (70%).
Examination support materials: Non- programmable calculator, according to model listed in faculty regulations