Bioinorganic and Bioorganic Chemistry

Bioinorganic chemistry is the study of the ways that nature uses the properties of metal ions to control and catalyse biological processes. Processes to be studied will include transport of electrons, small molecules, and essential trace elements, as well as chemical transformations that involve redox reactions, activation of water molecules in hydrolysis reactions, and the role of metal ions in biosynthetic reactions and drug metabolism. The bioorganic chemistry portion of the course will focus on the role that small molecular weight organic compounds can play in dissecting, probing and manipulating biological systems. We will use examples from human and animal health (i.e. cancer, infection) to illustrate this interdisciplinary process.