Introduction to Biochemistry
- Understanding of Biochemistry as a discipline.
- Fundamental properties of elements, their role in formation of biomolecules and in chemical reactions.
- Concepts of mole, mole fraction, molarity, etc.
- Unique property of water as a universal solvent.
- Fundamentals of Adsorption, Viscosity, Distribution law, Osmotic pressure, etc.
- Fundamental laws relating to photochemistry.
Bioorganic Chemistry and Metabolites
- Significance of organic reactions.
- Electrochemistry to conductance, voltaic, and electrolytic systems.
- Chemical bonding.
- Aliphatic and aromatic compounds and IUPAC nomenclature.
- Formation of polymers and their importance.
- Stereochemistry in determining conformations of biomolecules.
Cell Biology
- Structure of cell and various cellular events.
- Function of various subcellular organelles.
- Cell theory and techniques for fractionation of sub-cellular organelles.
- Composition of cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix.
- Cell cycle, cell division and cell death mechanisms.
Biochemical Techniques
- Chromatographic techniques and their application Centrifugation
- and chromatography in biological investigations.
- Principles of Electrophoresis, Spectrophotometry and ELISA and their applications.
Biomolecules
- Biomolecules present in living cells.
- Key contributions of scientists such as Hans Kreb, G. N. Ramachandran, Melvin Calvin, Louis Pasteur, Har Gobind Khorana, Watson etc.
- Properties of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, cholesterol, DNA, RNA, glycoproteins and glycolipids.
- Process of fermentation and manufacture of Biodiesel.
- Amino acid and nucleotide sequences of proteins and DNA respectively.
Nutrition
- Glycemic index, balanced diet, micronutrient deficiencies and the remedies, nutraceuticals and their importance, junk foods and their hazards.
- Need for specialized food for people with special needs – diabetes, pregnancy, inherited genetic disorders.
- Use of alternate crops – cereals and pulses and their importance.
- Cattle industry and its contribution to greenhouse gases.
- Merits and demerits of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods.
Metabolism
- Importance of lipids as storage molecules and as structural component of biomembranes.
- Importance of high energy compounds, electron transport chain, synthesis of ATP under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
- Role of TCA cycle in central carbon metabolism, importance of anaplerotic reactions and redox balance.
- Properties of metabolic enzymes of the host and pathogens
- Metabolic engineering for the production of useful biomolecules.
Bioenergetics and Membrane Biology
- Basic concepts of Bioenergetics, mechanisms of oxidative phosphorylation and photophosphorylation.
- Composition and structure of biomembranes, transport mechanisms across biological membranes.
- Concept and mechanism of ATP synthesis.
Human Physiology
- Mechanism of signal transduction by steroid and polypeptide hormones.
- Process of gaseous exchange in tissues and lungs, respiratory adaption to high altitude.
- Difference between hemoglobin and myoglobin.
- Muscular dystrophies, the role of steroids in muscle building.
- Nitrogen metabolism.
Clinical Biochemistry
- Constituents of urine, blood and their significance.
- Causation of diseases of liver, kidney, mechanism of Cancer.
- Trigycerides and lipoproteins and their relationship with various diseases.
- Role of enzymes in diagnosis of various diseases.
Microbiology
- Contributions of Louis Pasteur, Edward Jenner and Robert Koch in microbiology and immunology.
- Discovery of antibiotics and their targets, drug/antibiotic resistance, preventive and therapeutic approaches of infectious diseases.
- Microorganisms as model systems in genetics and biochemistry.
- Contribution of gut microbiome in human health.
- Basic concepts of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology.
Immunology
- Immune system including cells, organs and receptors.
- Structure and functions of different classes of immunoglobulins, the genetic basis of antibody diversity and the importance of humoral, cell-mediated and innate immune responses in combating pathogens.
- Different types of hypersensitivity, and the importance of conventional vs. recombinant vaccines.
- Importance of antigen-antibody interaction in disease diagnosis.
- Principles of tolerance, autoimmunity and the role of immunity in protection against pathogens.
Enzymology
- Enzymes and their importance in biological reactions.
- Difference between a chemical catalyst and biocatalyst.
- Activation energy and its importance in biological reactions.
Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering
- DNA as genetic material, DNA replication, transcription, DNA repair and translation.
- Coding and non-coding regions of eukaryotic genome.
- Exposure of E. coli lac operon, PCR, expression vectors and their importance in Biotechnology.
- Merits and Demerits of transgenic crops.
- Genomics, proteomics, metabolomics and their importance in human health
