Chemistry 447 - Bio-organic Chemistry - Home Page

Content: The course surveys principles and mechanisms of biochemical reactions based on organic chemistry. It is intended for specialists in Biological Chemistry and other Chemistry specialist programs. The pre-requisites include introductory biochemistry and CHM 347. The key background course is CHM 348 - Organic Reaction Mechanisms - as the objective of our course is to understand biochemical reactions in terms of the same principles.

Official information site for this course:  

Texts:

Strongly recommended: Alan Fersht, "Structure and Mechanism in Protein Science" (Freeman, 1998) and the older editions (1977, 1985) called "Enzyme Structure and Mechanism," cover all the general topics in this course to some extent. The course lectures will be similar in level and coverage (but there will be additional material). The book is well-written, opinionated, and correct. Many major topics are brief and many minor topics are extensive. There are no exercise problems. Some copies of the older editions can be purchased at www.abebooks.com from several sources for very low prices. The current edition is available from the U of T Bookstore and on-line vendors for over $100. Click on the pictures for more information.

(1999) (1977) - 1985 is the same in black and blue

In addition, reading from papers in on-line resources will be cited - there are many excellent reviews and articles that are essential for understanding the subject.

Books for those who want more general reading sources:

• If you are interested in mechanisms from a biochemical view, you might want to read William P. Jencks, "Catalysis in Chemistry and Enzymology" - published by Dover as a paperback. There is no recent material in it and most of it is difficult to read but it contains some very important sections.
• An advanced text that covers almost all the material in the course is Richard Silverman's "The Organic Chemistry of Enzyme- Catalyzed Reactions" (Academic Press, 2000). It is comprehensive and describes what exists in the literature. It has end-of-chapter problems. It is good for those with an interest in current issues and reporting of differing views.
• ¹William Alworth's "Stereochemistry and Its Applications in Biochemistry" is an excellent small book on the subject of its title. It has been out of print for many years but used copies appear on occasion There has been no better book on the subject and it deals with this complex topic with the best examples.
• Christopher Walsh's "Enzymatic Reaction Mechanisms" (1977) is an excellent all-around text and covers the course's topics well. It is long out of print. Used copies are hard to find and are generally very expensive. A recent text with the same name by other authors claims to be a replacement - but the new version does not relate to our course.

  Lectures: T and R 10, LM 161

Lecturer: Professor Ronald Kluger

Phone: 416-978-3582. Office: Davenport 444. Office Hours MWF 11-12. Please confirm your visit in advance. Email: Only email from utoronto.ca accounts will be accepted.

Email rules. It is difficult to deal with email in a large course so there are some simple rules to follow so that it can be handled efficiently.

1.  The email should first include your name and student number and identify that you are in CHM 447.

2.  Please limit content to requests for appointments or schedule issues. Questions about chemistry need to be discussed in person in order to be clear.

Click on the mailbox to send an email.

If you do not write the hour test your grade on that test is 0. If you have a completed satisfactory medical note on the approved form submitted to one of the instructors, you will be excused and your mark based on the final exam and other term work.

Note: All requests for re-marking must be submitted in writing within one week of the date the test is returned to the class.

Proposed Grading Scheme: Final examination (60 %), term test (25 %). Assignments (15%).

We cannot provide previous tests.

Lecture and Exam Schedule

Note: The schedule and topics are subject to change

Reading and other notes

Note on assignments: Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com web site.

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Ronald Kluger.
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Revised: September 02, 2008 .