Emphasis 1 Courses

Biophysics and Bioengineering Core Courses
Course Title Units Instructor Prerequisites Description
201A Protein Structure & Function 2 Plaxco Graduate standing. Exploration of the relationship between protein sequence, structure, biophysics, and function.
202 Biomaterials &. Biosurfaces 3 Israelachvili Consent of instructor. Same course as Chemical Engineering 202. Recommended preparation: prior biochemistry, physical chemistry, and organic chemistry. Fundamentals of natural and artificial biomaterials and biosurfaces with emphasis on molecular level structure and function and the interactions of biomaterials and surfaces with the body. Design issues of grafts and biopolymers. Basic biological and biochemical systems reviewed for nonbiologists.
203 Protein Engineering Design 3 Reich, Sagermann Consent of Instructor. Rational design of protein structure, activity and stability. Current methods and applications of protein engineering including protein evolution, unnatural amino acids and combinatorial methods.
215 Biophysical Thermodynynamics 2 Plaxco Prerequisite: undergraduate course in physical chemistry (e.g., Chemistry and Biochemistry 113A-B-C). An overview of those parts of chemical thermodynamics relevant to the study of biomolecules and biological systems. Topics include fundamental thermodynamics, experimental and theoretical tools and the thermodynamics of biopolymer structure formation.
216A Spectroscopy of Biological Molecules 2 Staff Graduate standing. Introduction to the application of spectroscopic techniques to biological systems, including UV - vis, IR, CD, flurescence, NMR, and ESR.
216B Diffraction of Biological Molecules 2 Staff Prerequisite: one year of undergraduate biochemistry (e.g., MCDB 108A-B-C), one quarter of undergraduate physical chemistry (e.g., Chemistry and Biochemistry 142A-B-C, Chemistry and Biochemistry 113A). Single-crystal macromolecular crystallography methods; crystal growth, geometric and physical basis of diffraction, approaches to phasing and refinement. X-ray and neutron solution scattering.
217 Electrostatics of Biopolymers 2 Pincus Knowledge of elementary ideas and methods of electrostatics and statistical mechanics. Electrostatics of highly charged surfaces in contact with a polar solvent with application to biopolymers (e.g. DNA, f-actin)
244 Informational Macro- and Supra-Molecules 2 Jaeger Consent of instructor. Same course as Chemistry 244. Selected topics at the interface of chemistry and biology: informational molecular coding, molecular machines, self-assembling and self-replicating molecular systems, evolution and selection of molecules with binding of catalytic properties, and biopolymer based materials; special emphasis on cutting-edge technologie.
247 Quantitative Methods in Biology 3 Briggs One year of calculus or consent of instructor. A review of quantitative methods required to develop models of biological and ecological systems. Topics illustrated through computer exercises.
250 Bionanotechnology 2 Fygenson Background in biochemistry and molecular biology. Introduction to macromolecular assemblies and force generation strategies. Topics may also include but are not limited to: conformations and behavior of protein polymers; nucleic acid superstructures and membranes; structure, motility and mechanism of linear and rotary motor proteins; and macromolecular switches.
251 Biopharm Process Engineering 2 Daugherty Mathematics 5A or equivalent; background in biochemistry. An introduction to the design bioprocess for large-scale production of biopharmaceuticals. Emphasis is placed upon biopharmaceutical products, protein expression systems, host cell optimization, and reactor selection and design.
252 Principles Bioengineering 2 Mitragotri An overview of various aspects of bioengineering including modeling of physiological functions, biomedical devices, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.
253 Analytical Biotechnology 3 Soh Graduate standing. Effective Date changed to S05 per Grad Div (5/3/05). ME 291A. Develops fundamental understanding behind modern methods of biotechnology. Topics include theoretical treatment of the double layer, electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction, modern optics, and fluorescence. In addition, case studies of contemporary emerging trends are discussed.
255 Systems Biology 3 Doyle Prior course work in cellular biology, mathematics; consent of instuctor. Fundamentals of dynamic network organization in biology (genes, metabolites). Emphasis on mathematical approaches to model and analyze complex biophysical network systems. Detailed case studies demonstrating successes of systems biology. Basic biological systems reviewed for nonbiologists.
272 Mechanical Force and Biomolecules 3 Saleh Explores single-molecule biophysics and the role of mechanical force in biomolecular behavior. Emphasis is placed on modern experimental techniques and the effects of mechanical stress on DNA conformation, protein unfolding, and force-generation by motor proteins. Recent literature is used throughout.
276A Biomolecular Materials I: Structure and Function 3 Safinya Consent of instructor. Concurrently offered with Mat 276A. Survey of classes of biomolecules (lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids). Structure and function of molecular machines (enzymes for biosynthesis, motors, pumps).