9797190 - PRINCIPLES OF THE HUMAN MATTER
Modulo Chemistry and biochemistry propedeutics

By the end of the course, students are expected to:

·       Demonstrate increased knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of inorganic and organic chemistry.

·       Acquire knowledge of fundamental chemical processes applicable to the comprehension of physiological, biological, and medical mechanisms.

·       Fundamentals of the atomic structure, atomic particles and model with orbitals.

·       Radioactivity: characteristics of radiations and their biological effects. Stable and unstable isotopes and their importance in biology and medicine. Atomic properties, electronic configurations and Periodic Table.

·       Chemical bonding. Ionic, covalent, coordinative, hydrogen bond, Van der Waals forces. Chemical resonance. Geometry of simple molecules. Orbital hybridization. Coordination complexes and biological macromolecules (hemoglobin, cytochromes, vitamin B12, etc.).

·       Chemical systematics: acidic and basic oxydes, hydroxides, acids; salts neutral, acidic and basic peroxydes, hydrures. General characteristics and properties of the solid, liquid and gaseous state. Laws of ideal gases and their importance in breathing. State passages. Water state diagram. Solutions: water as a solvent. Molarity, normality, molality, molar fraction. Concentrations of some electrolytes in biological matrices. Colligative properties: cryoscopy, osmotic pressure and its biological meaning. Hypertonic, isotonic and hypotonic solutions and their use in medicine. Osmole concept. Electrolytes, dissociation grade, ionic strength.

·       Chemical reactions. Kinetics and factors influencing the reaction velocity. Reaction order. Reaction energy and catalysis. Catalysis relevance in biology: on overview of enzymatic catalysis. Chemical equilibrium: law of the mass action. Principle of mobile equilibrium. Simple concepts on thermodynamics: enthalpy, entropy and free energy. Hess’s law. Bioenergetics: coupled reactions, compounds with high energetic potential (ATP, GTP, etc.).

·       Redox reactions: oxidation number, redox potential and its measurement; variation as pH function. Potentiometric measurement of pH. Redox reactions in live matter.

·       Acids and bases: water as electrolyte, pH. Acidic and basic strength. Equilibria in solution: hydrolysis, pK, buffer systems. Titration curves of acids and bases, ampholytes. Importance of acid/base equilibrium in the organism. Solubility product.

·       Colloidal solutions: characteristics, classification, methodology of study. Bioinorganic chemistry: fundamental notions on chemical compounds of elements of major biological interest: Na, K, Li, Ca, Mg, Cu, Mn, Fe, Co, H, O, C, N, S, P, Cl, Br.

·       Organic chemistry: classification of the compounds on the basis of functional groups. Classification of the organic reactions. Isomerism. Structural cis-trans isomerism, tautomerism, optical isomerism (stereochemical series); isomerism relevance on the properties of biological and medical compounds.

·       Electronic effects on organic molecules: inductive, mesomeric, steric. Electrophilic and nucleophilic reagents. Organic reactions: redox reactions; substitution reactions (SN1 e SN2); simple nucleophilic reaction of addiction to carbonyl bond; electrophilic addition reaction followed by elimination reaction; electrophilic addition to alkenes and alkynes; electrophilic substitution reactions; orientation effects; polymerization reactions.

·       Organic compounds: Alkanes, alkenes, dienes, alkynes, cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons; nomenclature, physical and chemical properties. Arenes: nomenclature, physical and chemical properties. Alkylic and arylic halogenures: nomenclature, chemical properties. Aliphatic and aromatic alcools, mono and polyvalent: nomenclature, classification, chemical properties. Thioalcools. Phenols, ethers and thioethers: nomenclature, classification, chemical properties. Aliphatic and aromatic amines: nomenclature, classification, chemical properties; quaternary ammonium salts, amino-alcools, diamines.

·       R.C. Bauer - Introduction to chemistry (Piccin)

·       Masterton - Hurley Chemical Principles and Reactions (Piccin)

·       J. R. Amend, B. P. Mundy, M. T. Arnold - Chimica Generale, Organica e Biologica (Piccin)

·       Denniston - General and Organic Chemistry (McGraw-Hill)

The assessment of acquired knowledge is conducted by an oral examination. The grade is expressed on a scale of thirty, up to a maximum of 30/30 cum laude (with honors). The final grade is determined by the weighted average of the scores obtained in the course subjects. 

The oral examination consists of an interview during which questions will cover at least three different topics from the course curriculum. The assessments aim to evaluate: i) the level of knowledge in the disciplines; ii) the ability to apply this knowledge to solve specific problems related to the disciplines (autonomous problem-solving); iii) clarity of expression; iv) proficiency in medical-scientific language. The assessment of learning can also be conducted remotely if the conditions necessitate it.

For the assignment of the final grade, the following parameters will be considered:

·       Score 29-30 with honors: The student demonstrates an in-depth knowledge of the topics, promptly and correctly integrates and critically analyzes presented situations, independently solving even highly complex problems. They possess excellent communication skills and command medical-scientific language proficiently.

·       Score 26-28: The student has a good understanding of the topics, is able to integrate and critically and logically analyze presented situations, can fairly independently solve complex problems, and presents topics clearly using appropriate medical-scientific language.

·       Score 22-25: The student has a fair understanding of the topics, although it may be limited to the main areas. They can integrate and critically analyze presented situations, although not always in a linear fashion, and present topics fairly clearly with moderate language proficiency.

·       Score 18-21: The student has minimal knowledge of the topics, possesses modest ability to integrate and critically analyze presented situations, and presents topics sufficiently clearly, although their language proficiency may be underdeveloped.

·       pH calculation 

·       Chemical compound nomenclature

·       Chemical reaction description

·       Redox reaction balance

·       Colligative properties

·       Atomic structure