You will undertake a major 60 credit research project. The project will develop not only your practical ability, team working and problem-solving skills, but also your appreciation of the published literature, your use of library and computer database resources and your presentation skills. You will complete a further 60 credits of optional modules in year four.
Advanced Physical Chemistry
Building on your knowledge from the previous years' modules in inorganic chemistry, you’ll study topics including:
- electron transfer pathways
- inorganic chemistry in biological systems
- the principles of molecular and supramolecular photochemistry
- applications of inorganic photochemistry
- photocatalysis
You’ll attend two lectures each week in this module.
Contemporary Physical Chemistry
Applications will be introduced that range from condensed matter through to gas phase, but novel “states” of matter such as ultracold molecules in traps and liquid He nanodroplets, microsolvated clusters, and low dimensional carbon structures will also be covered.
The dynamics of chemical processes, including non-adiabatic interactions will be discussed, and the capability of modern light sources allowing for the study of time-resolved measurements on chemically relevant timescales ranging from pico- to attoseconds will be explained and illustrated. Methods for the state-selective preparation and detection of molecular systems will be discussed.
The principles by which extended systems can be designed to have properties allowing use in novel sensors and devices will be introduced.
A wide range of computational techniques will be covered which underpin the modelling of cutting edge scientific applications such as gas capture and storage at the nanometer scale and novel nanomaterials.
Contemporary Organic Synthesis
Explore the synthesis of a variety of natural (and unnatural) compounds of relevance to biology and medicine, with reference to the goals and achievements of contemporary organic synthesis through a range of case studies. There is an emphasis on the use of modern synthetic methodology to address problems such as chemoselectivity, regiocontrol, stereoselectivity, atom economy and sustainability.
You will also study the application of new methodology for the rapid, efficient and highly selective construction of a range of target compounds - particularly those that display significant biological activity. There will also be an opportunity to address how a greater understanding of mechanism is important in modern organic chemistry. This module is assessed by a two hour exam.
Medicines from Nature / Pharmaceutical Process Chemistry
Natural products have been a mainstay of medicine for thousands of years, in this module you will learn how they have inspired chemists to develop new improved therapeutics and how we can learn from nature to create better medicines. You will learn how we can replicate how Nature carries out chemical reactions in the laboratory.
When we develop a new medicine, we need to be able to make large quantities in a safe, high yielding process to meet the patient needs. This has a new set of challenges that are different to a small-scale chemistry lab. You will learn how the choice of the chemicals and the methods we use to synthesise medicines is critical to ensure that the highest quality for use in a clinical environment, and how as a process chemist we can optimise chemistry to get the maximum output from the raw materials used in a process.
You’ll study:
- The historical perspective of natural products as therapeutics
- How we determine the structure of natural products and their biological activity
- Synthesis and biomimetic synthesis of natural products
- Natural product inspired medicinal chemistry
- Large scale pharmaceutical synthesis and the associated challenges
- Good manufacturing practice (GMP) and
- The influence of reagents and synthesis routes on pharmaceutical purity and yield
- Application of green chemistry principles to safer pharmaceutical synthesis
Nucleic Acids and Bioorganic Mechanisms
During this module you will learn to understand in depth the structure, chemistry and molecular recognition of nucleic acids and their reactivity towards mutagens, carcinogens and ionising radiation and anti-tumour drugs. You will appreciate the plasticity and dynamics of the DNA duple helix through base motions that underpin its function.
The bacterial replisome will be used as the prime example to highlight the problems associated with DNA replication and the significance of telomeres will be discussed. Alongside this you will develop an understanding of the chemical reactivity of coenzymes and how these add significantly to the functionality of the 20 amino acids found in proteins.
Inorganic and Materials Chemistry
In this module you will explore inorganic photochemistry, electron transport pathways, molecular and supramolecular photochemistry, and artificial photosynthesis together with the principles that underpin green chemistry.
You will attend two lectures per week in this module.
Molecular Interactions and Supramolecular Assembly
In this module you’ll learn about the importance of intermolecular forces, across a wide cross-section of subject areas from biology through to supramolecular chemical systems.
You'll study molecular organisation, assembly and recognition in biological and supramolecular systems.
In addition to appreciating the rich chemistry underlying self-assembling systems, you'll learn about the phenomena that impact on the properties of materials and important interactions in biology.
You'll attend two lectures per week in this module.
Enterprise for Chemists
Students will learn about the factors that lead to successful innovation, including evaluation and management of an idea/concept.
In addition, students will consider the factors required to extract the value from a product/concept (e.g. market awareness) and the potential routes to market available from both an academic and industrial viewpoint.
Advanced Biocatalysis, Biosynthesis and Chemical Biology
Advanced Chemical Biology
To introduce concepts of chemical genetics and including activity-based protein profiling, non-natural amino acid incorporation, bio-orthogonal reactivity and the use of bump-and-hole strategies, applied to various challenges such as finding kinase/target pairs.
Biocatalysis
To introduce enzyme engineering and the synthetic utility of designer biocatalysts, especially highlighting chemo-enzymatic approaches toward chiral commodity molecules (e.g. pharmaceuticals) and their precursors.
Biosynthesis
To introduce the biosynthetic pathways and enzyme catalysed reactions leading natural products polyketides, terpenes, fatty acids and non-ribosomal peptides.