Biophysics (academic course)

From Christoph's Personal Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Content is archived here for educational purposes only.

Biophysics was a year-long academic course I took during my undergraduate years at Oregon State University. It was a professional course sequence covering basic principles of biological systems and biological phenomena, and the methods to study these, using concepts derived from mathematics and physics.

  • Professors: Dr. P. Shing Ho, Dr. Victor Hsu, and Dr. P. Andrew Karplus .
  • Textbook: Physical Biochemistry, Kensal E. van Holde, W. Curtis Johnson, and P. Shing Ho, Prentice Hall, New Jersey (1998).

The course was divided into three terms.

Biophysics I (by Dr. Ho)

Molecular Thermodynamics: Basic concepts of biological macromolecules, and molecular thermodynamics and statistical mechanics methods for understanding macromolecular structure.

Keywords: Biological Macromolecules (Interactions, Environments, Symmetry, Structure), Molecular Thermodynamics, Statistical Thermodynamics (Structural Transitions in Polypeptides and Proteins, Structural Transitions in Polynucleotides and DNA, Nonregular Structures)

Biophysics II (by Dr. Hsu)

Spectroscopy: Quantum mechanics and spectroscopy, absorption and emission spectroscopy, linear and circular dichroism, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Keywords: Quantum Mechanics, Spectroscopy (Absorption, Linear and Circular Dichroism, Emisson, NMR).

Biophysics III (by Dr. Karplus)

Macromolecular Structure and Behavior: Methods for determining macromolecular structure (X-ray diffraction, NMR); behavior of macromolecules in solution.

Keywords: Macromolecular Structure Determination, X-ray Crystallography, Hydrogen Exchange (Dynamics, Thermodynamics, Structure), Atomic Force Microscopy, Mass Spectroscopy, Protein Folding.