Teaching
Lecture: Interactions of Proteins and Nucleic Acids - Biophysical Concepts and Techniques
Winter term 2022/2023, Thursdays from 14:15-15:45, starting October 27, 2022, BioQuant, INF 267, Seminar Room 043, No registration necessary.
The lecture will cover various biophysical topics that are relevant for a quantitative description of interactions of proteins and nucleic acids. In includes a short introduction to proteins and nuclein acids and then covers the following aspects: Physicochemical interactions of biological macromolecules, hydrophobic interactions, solution thermodynamics, hydration, charges, polymer models helix-coil transitions, binding equilibria, binding kinetics, hydrodynamics, transport, diffusion and sedimentation. The lecture introduces methods and applications from the field of biophysics/quantitative biology to characterize interactions of proteins and nucleic acids. The focus is on various spectroscopy and microscopy based techniques and methods. There will be homework problems to be solved and turned in every week.
Audience: Master students of Physics/Biology/Chemistry
Literature: K. E. van Holde, W. C. Johnson, & S. P. Ho, Principles of Physical Biochemistry 2nd edition, Prentice-Hall, 2006; C. Cantor & P. Schimmel, Biophysical Chemistry, Vol I, II und III, Freeman Press, 1980; M. Daune, Molecular Biophysics, Oxford University Press, 1999; P. Nelson, Biological Physics, Freeman, 2004
Physico-Chemical Methods in Systems Biology - Submodule for Major Systems Biology
The lecture with tutorials is part of the Major Systems Biology in the Molecular Biosciences program of the Faculty of Biosciences.
Summer term 2023 BioQuant SR 043
Physico-chemical methods play a key role for investigating molecular and cellular processes. Therefore, these lectures shall provide fundamental knowledge of important physical and chemical phenomenons necessary for understanding of current methods used in systemsbiology. Topics range from classical forces, elasticity, cellular mechanics, polymer statistics, thermodynamics and reaction kinetics to geometric optics and interaction of light with matter. The lecture is complemented by a tutorial giving overview about current methods and their applications ranging from basic spectroscopy, neutron and x-ray scattering to atomic force and optical microscopy as well as high-throughput methods, like RNAi screening and automated microscopy.
Lab courses and practicals
Biophysical methods – optogenetics in the nucleus
This paractical is part of the Major Systems Biology in the Molecular Biosciences program of the Faculty of Biosciences and takes place in the winter term.
Individual laboratory practicals (6-18 weeks)
Students from the faculties of Biowissenschaften, Physik, Chemie and Medizin can participate. The course involves lab work on a topic within ongoing research projects, and is arranged on an individual basis.