Important notice
The course guide is provisional.
The PDF version of the course guide may take a few days to become available in the DDD.
From Small Molecules to Nanomaterials
Code: 42423Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial Chemistry and Introduction to Chemical Research | OP | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Adelina Vallribera Masso
- Email :
- adelina.vallribera@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Ramón Alibes Arques
- Adelina Vallribera Masso
- Felix Busque Sanchez
- Jean-Didier Pierre Marechal
- Carolina Gimbert Suriñach
- Antonio Franconetti Garcia
- Fernando Novio Vazquez
- Franco Della Felice
- Sira Defaus Fornaguera
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There are no special prerequisites to attend the Module 6 but the same as to access the Master. It is required to be in possession of an official Spanish University Degree or another Degree issued by a Higher Education Institution, belonging to another member state of the European Higher Education, or from third countries empowered to access a master's degree.
On the other hand, it is desirable to have advanced knowledge of English, level B1 of the Common Reference European Framework for Languages of the European Council.
Objectives
The aim of the module is to learn and deepen the study of the properties and applications of specific relevant materials in research by focusing on supramolecular materials, nanomaterials and biomaterials. In this sense, the preparation, properties and applications of molecules based on their molecular weight and increasing structural complexity down to nanostructured materials will be studied.
In this regard the following sub blocks are splitted:
Small molecules: synthesis, properties and applications in molecular biology and medicine
Modern organofluorine chemistry: applications in medicinal chemistry
Carbohydrates and dendrimers
Biocatalysis in organic chemistry
Soft materials and metallic nanoparticles: synthesis, functionalization and applications
Polymeric materials
Computational chemistry
Lecturing in English as well as evaluating the contents in English will allow the students to be familiar with the chemistry terminology as well as to in consolidate an essential language for their future careers both as in companies as in a university department or a research center.
Learning outcomes
- Students should know how to communicate their conclusions, knowledge and final reasoning that they hold in front of specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously
- Identify information in the scientific literature using the appropriate channels and integrating said information to approach and contextualise a research issue.
- Use scientific terminology in the English language to defend experimental results in the context of the chemistry profession.
- Correctly apply new information capture and organisation technologies to solve problems in professional activity.
- Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity for originality in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context
- Student should possess an ability to learn that enables them to continue studying in a manner which is largely self-supervised or independent
- Students should know how to apply the knowledge acquired and the capacity to solve problems in new or little-known areas within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts realted to thier area of study
- Prepare and use dendrimers in catalysis, biology, medicine and materials.
- Prepare and functionalise metallic nanoparticles for their application to analysis and catalysis.
- Describe the design and synthesis of drug transporters agents
- Apply the synthesis of small molecules in molecular biology and medicine
- Assess the importance of chirality in molecular recognition and biological activity
Contents
- Modern organofluorinated chemistry. 3h Adelina Vallribera
General properties of fluorine and organofluorinated compounds. Applications in the field of materials chemistry. The role of fluoride in pharmaceuticals and medical chemistry. Synthetic methodologies for the introduction of fluorinated interest groups (F, CF3 , CF2COOEt etc) en Csp2 i Csp3.)
- Small molecules: synthesis and applications in molecular biology and medicine. 14h Ramon Alibés, Félix Busqué and Sira Defaus.
Introduction to the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical industry and small molecules: an overview. Drugs and therapeutic targets. Design and development of the main drug families. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Antivirals Opioid analgesics. Proton pump inhibitors as gastric HCl regulators. HGN-CoA reductase inhibitors as cholesterol regulators. antibiotics
-Carbohydrates and dendrimers. 3h Antonio Franconetti
Sugars in Nature. Introduction to Glycochemistry: Protecting Groups and Glycosylation Reactions. Intermolecular Interactions and Glycobiology. Dendrimers, Nanoparticles, and Multivalency. Applications of Carbohydrates in Medicinal Chemistry.
-Biocatalysis in organic synthesis. 3 h Franco Della Felice
Introduction to biocatalysis. Enzymes. Properties and nomenclature. Mechanical aspects. Reactivity and applications: hydrolytic reactions, reduction reactions, oxidation reactions, formation of carbon-carbon bonds, addition and elimination reactions and transfer reactions. Basic concepts of molecular biology. Microbiology. Genetic engineering. Directed evolution: concepts and applications; state of the art and research challenges. Artificial enzymes: strategies and applications.
- Introduction to polymeric materials. 5h Carolina Gimbert
Brief Introduction to Polymers. Synthesis of polymers: Step-growing polimerization – Condensation; Chain growth polymerization – Addition; Copolymerization. Polymer properties: Molecular weight; Morphology; Thermal properties; Electrical and optical properties; Rheology. Formulation: Composites, Fillers and Additives. Environmental issues: Polymers from renewable sources; Degradation and biodegradation of polymers. Characterization of polymers
-Nanomaterials in medicinal chemistry. 4h Fernando Novio
Brief Introduction to Nanomaterials in medicine. Nanosystems, nanoemulsions and gels for drug delivery and bioimaging. General overview, advantages of nanomaterials and their applications in the medical field.
- Computational Chemistry. 3h Jean-Didier Marechal
Introduction. The importance of computing in designing small molecules. Basics of molecular modeling methods. Methods of quantum mechanics. Force field methods. Geometric scanning methods. Ligand-based methods. Structure-based methods. Examples of drug design.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 38 | 1.52 | |
| Seminars and Bibliography | 92 | 3.68 |
In general the following Teaching Methodologies will be followed in all the different subjects:
- Lectures
- Problem-solving classes
- Cooperative activities
- Seminars
- Oral presentations
- Tutoring
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical and Teorical Writing Exams | 30% | 6 | 0.24 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| Manuscripts and reports | 30% | 4 | 0.16 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 |
| Oral comunications | 40% | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 |
All subjects are compulsory attendance, and are evaluated separately by different evaluating procedures including writing exams, theoretical and practical tests, oral presentations, research papers understanding, in-class brief questions, written works, etc.
General Regulations of the Master:
- Every professor decides the number and typology of evaluation activities: oral presentations, written exams, delivery of discussed articles, tests.
- The final mark of the module will be the sum of the marks of every professor multiplied by the percentage of his classes in the total teaching of the module.
- To pass a module, it is mandatory to have a mark of 3.5 or higher in 75% of all the activities in order to average with other marks from the professor and/or the module.
- There will be a period in January to repeat written exams with marks under 5. In the case of exams under 3,5, it will be mandatory to the student. In the case of exams between 3,5 and 5 it would be optional.
- The marks of other evaluations activities (i. e. oral presentations) will average with the rest of the marks of the professor/module independently of the value. There will be not option of repeating these evaluation activities.
VERY IMPORTANT: Partial or total plagiarising will immediately result in a FAIL (0) for the plagiarised exercise and the WHOLE subject. PLAGIARISING consists of copying text from unacknowledged sources -whether this is part of a sentence or a whole text - with the intention of passing it off as the student's own production. It includes cutting and pasting from internet sources, presented unmodified in the student's own text. Plagiarising is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. Students must respect authors' intellectual property, always identifying the sources they may use; they must also be responsible for the originality and authenticity of their own texts.
USE OF AI: For the subjects in this module, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final result of the activity. The lack of transparency in the use of AI in assessable activities will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may lead to a partial or total penalty in the grade of the activity, or greater sanctions in serious cases.
VERY IMPORTANT: Any irregularity in an assessment act (academic fraud, plagiarism or improper use of AI, unless this use is expressly authorized in the teaching guide), which may lead to a significant variation in the grade, means that this act will be graded with a 0. In the event that the teaching guide provides that to pass the subject it is an essential requirement to have obtained a minimum grade in this assessment act or that several irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for this subject is 0. Apart from this, a disciplinary process may be initiated against the student who incurs any of these irregularities.
Some previewed evaluation methods are detailed next. Written examinations will be grouped in two sessions and detailed in the schedule.
- Small molecules: Synthesis and applications in molecular biology and medicine: Written examination+ Presentation in pairs (10 min) based on previous work.
- Introduction to polymeric materials: Written examination
- Nanomaterials and Analytical Chemistry. Chemical Sensing applications: Short Questions on the field with your notes (30 min)
- Computational Chemistry: on line questionnaire
Bibliography
All recommended literature will be given during the sessions. Here some general indicators for some subjects:
- Hyperbranched molecules: preparation and applications.
1. Dendrimers: Towards Catalytic, Material and Biomedical Uses. First Edition. Anne-Marie Caminade, Cédric-Olivier Turrin, Régis Laurent, Armelle Ouali and Béatrice Delavaux-Nicot , 2011, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2011 by John Wiley & sons, Ltd. ISBN 9780470748817
2. Dendrimer Chemistry. Fritz Vögtle, Gabriele Richardt and Nicole Werner. 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GMBH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. ISBN 978-3-527-32066-0
- Soft materials: polymeric coatings and gelators, Supramolecular structures.
1. Introduction to Soft Matter: Synthetic and Biological Self-Assembling Materials, I. W. Hamley, Wiley 2007.
2. Polymer Chemistry, C. E. Carraher, Jr. 7th Edition. CRC Press, 2011.
- Nanomaterials and Analytical Chemistry. Chemical Sensing applications.
1. The Use of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Analytical Chemistry. Jacob S. Beveridge, Jason R. Stephens, and Mary Elizabeth Williams. Annu. Rev. Anal. Chem. 2011. 4:251–73
2. Chemical Functionalization of Carbon Nanomaterials. Chemistry and Applications. Edited by Vijay Kumar Thakur and Manju Kumari Thakur. CRC Press 2015. Pages 664–681. ISBN: 978-1-4822-5394-8.
3. Nanomaterials and Analytical Chemistry. F. Valentini and G. Palleschi. Analytical Letters, (2008), 41:4, 479-520, DOI: 10.1080/00032710801912805
Software
- Computational Chemistry
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 1 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |