Organic Chemistry: Mechanisms and Biomolecules - CHEM2021
Description
Organic molecules are at the heart of the chemistry of life and industry. This course builds on the fundamental chemical principles learned in first year, exploring many of the central reactions that form the basis of living processes, modern research, and contemporary industrial transformations. Several modules of the course develop knowledge of major classes of organic reactions (including compounds containing alkenes, alkynes, aromatic rings, and carbonyl groups) by enriching a study of key reactions with an understanding of relevant reaction mechanisms. Interleaved throughout the course will be relevant examples from contemporary chemical industries, and important medicinal and pharmaceutical examples. The course concludes with a substantial module on biological organic chemistry, which reprises concepts from the earlier modules and drives home for students the exciting realisation that all biological processes (e.g. those involving nucleic acids and proteins) can be understood at the fundamental chemistry level.