Metabolism of Amino Acids & Proteins

At the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. illustrate why and how proteins are broken in cellular systems; 2. explain how to determine the molecular weight of proteins; 3. recognise the relationship between the urea cycle and other pathways of protein metabolism. 4. describe the differences between ketogenic and glucogenic amino acids; 5. identify the role of inorganic nitrogen in protein synthesis and breakdown.

Amino acids as building blocks of proteins; the peptide bond as covalent backbone of proteins. Forces involved in the stabilisation of protein structure. Protein isolation, fractionation, purification and characterisation. Amino acid analysis of peptides and proteins. Methods for the determination of the sequence of amino acids in proteins. Protein Biosynthesis, Molecular weight determination of proteins. Techniques in protein biochemistry. Oxidative degradation of amino acids and metabolism of one carbon units. Ammonia toxicity and urea formation. Ketogenic and Glucogenic amino acids. Biosynthesis of amino acids and some derivatives; the urea cycle; metabolism of inorganic nitrogen. Disorders of amino acid metabolism, Polyamines.