Intermediate Organic Chemistry - Part 2

This course covers topics on the structure and reactivity of organic compounds with an emphasis on bioorganic chemistry and applications to life sciences.  Stereochemical concepts and aspects of non-covalent interactions relevant to enzyme-catalyzed reactions are presented.  The mechanistic approach of this course is designed to help students build intuition about how bioorganic compounds undergo their chemical transformations. The structure and reactivity of the major classes of bioorganic molecules - proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids - will be covered in detail. An introduction to biosynthesis will be presented, along with the use of contemporary literature and structural databases. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed on mechanism-based problem-solving skills to help students understand and think critically about the organic chemistry of living systems. This course, orgchem2b, and its prerequisite, orgchem2a, are equivalent to a second-semester organic chemistry course; these courses are well suited for students in agricultural, nutritional and biological sciences, as well as premedical, predental, and preveterinary programs.