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.