UMBC Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Electives for Spring 2018
Important Scheduling Change
Both CHEM405 and CHEM405L will be offered in Spring 2018. Beginning in Fall 2018, CHEM405 will only be offered in spring semesters and CHEM405L will only be offered in fall semesters. CHEM 405 should be taken in the spring of your junior year.
Electives with an asterisk are also approved as an elective for the biochemistry degree.
CHEM 401 Chemical and Statistical Thermodynamics, Dr. Lisa Kelly
Area: Physical Chemistry. Chemicals react and rearrange. Fluids boil, freeze, and evaporate. Solids melt and deform. Rubber stretches and retracts. Proteins fold. We will study the forces that drive these (and other) processes. Statistical thermodynamics gives us a set of tools for modeling molecular behavior and how it is realized in the macroscopic realm. Most importantly, statistical thermodynamics gives a language for interpreting experiments.
CHEM 455 Biomedicinal Chemistry*, Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke
Areas: Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry.This survey course provides an introduction to drug design, discovery and development processes from a biological, organic chemistry and mechanistic standpoint. Basic principles of drug design and development, including modern rational approaches, various drug targets, the design and mechanistic features of various classes of inhibitors and prodrugs, DNA interactive drugs, toxicity, development of resistance, and patent issues will be covered.
CHEM 490, Introduction to Fluorescence Sensing*, Dr. Marcin Ptaszek
Areas: Physical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Spectroscopy. This course introduces the principles of fluorescence sensing as well as selected applications of fluorescence spectroscopy in analytical chemistry, medicine and biochemistry. Topics include a survey of fluorophores, examples of intracellular sensing of physicochemical parameters and small molecules of biological importance, labeling of biomacro-molecules, fluorescence enzyme activity assays, and the application of fluorescence spectroscopy in diagnosis of various diseases. The course is partly based on current literature readings.
CHEM 490 Structural Biology*, Dr. Elsa Garcin
Area: Biochemistry. This class comprises lectures, hands-on practicals (computer and in the lab), and paper reading. In this class, we explore structural biology and how to use the information it provides to understand how macromolecules (proteins, nucleic acids) work, interact, and are regulated. We also delve into structure-based drug design and study specific cases based on recent literature.
CHEM 490 Bioinorganic Chemistry*, Dr. Aaron T. Smith
Areas: Inorganic Chemistry, Biochemistry. This class is designed to give the participant an overview of how metals function in biological systems. The course comprises lectures, presentations, and primary literature as a means to survey cutting-edge advances in the field of bioinorganic chemistry. This class has three units: coordination chemistry of metals within biological systems; physical and spectroscopic characterization of metal interactions within biological systems; and mechanistic studies of metalloenzymes.
CHEM 490 Advanced NMR Spectroscopy*, Dr. Michael Summers
Areas: Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry. This course focuses on theoretical aspects of solution-state NMR spectroscopy and their applications to chemical and biological systems. NMR theory is described using principles of classical and quantum mechanical physics. Emphasis is placed on theories behind methods commonly used for biomolecular structure/function studies, including the nuclear Overhauser effect, sensitivity enhancement of insensitive nuclei, and multi-dimensional NMR methods.
*Appro*Approved as an elective for the undergraduate major in Biochemistry
