Università Roma Tre

Basic thermodynamics concepts, free energy, enthalpy, entropy. Amino acids properties: structure, hydrophobicity, interactions. Protein structure: primary structure, secondary structure, supersecondary structures (all-alpha beta-alpha-beta, all beta, jelly roll, t-knot, ww-domain structural motifs). Proteins’ stability: covalent interactions, non-covalent interactions. structure-function relationships: membrane transporters (rhodopsins, potassium channels, aquaporins), redox reactions (superoxide dismutase and amine oxidases). Molecular recognition: theoretical principles (electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, entropic contributions), protein toxins, proteases. Determination of protein structure: x-ray diffraction. Bioinformatics and computational chemistry: databases, protein sequence analysis, molecular modelling, molecular dynamics, electrostatics.

BRANDEN C. & TOOZE J. INTRODUCTION TO PROTEIN STRUCTURE. GARLAND PUBLISHING, SECOND EDITION. PETSKO G.A. & RINGE D. PROTEIN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. NEW SCIENCE PRESS. WILLIAMSON M. HOW PROTEINS WORK. GARLAND PUBLISHING.