MBB302   Physical Methods for Studying Biological Structures   (10 credits)

Description

The module aims to describe the methods used in the study of biological molecules, concentrating on the methods used to obtain structural information. Students will have an opportunity to acquire knowledge of the following: spectroscopy (UV/visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, infra-red spectroscopy, and the applications and limits of each of these techniques in biological systems); methods for looking at protein size and aggregation; the techniques and basic principles of NMR spectroscopy, of protein crystallography, and of electron microscopy, and electron diffraction; the structural information that these techniques reveal; structural restraints, electron density, protein conformation and protein flexibility. The course will focus on the application of these techniques to selected case studies.

Reading List