Principles And Problems In Physical Chemistry For Biochemist

Description:
What use is physical chemistry to the student of biochemistry and biology? This central question is answered in this book mainly through the use of worked examples and problems. The book starts by introducing the laws of thermodynamics, and then uses these laws to derive the equations relevant to the student in dealing with chemical equilibria (including the binding of small molecules to proteins), properties of solutions, acids and bases, and oxidation-reduction processes. The student is thus shown how a knowledge of thermodynamic qualities makes it possible to predict whether, and how, a reaction will proceed. Thermodynamics, however, gives no information about how fast a reaction will happen. The study of the rates at which processes occur (kinetics) forms the second main theme of the book. This section poses and answers questions such as 'how is the rate of a reaction affected by temperature, pH, ionic strength, and the nature of the reactants? These same ideas are then shown to be useful in the study of enzyme-catalysed reactions.

Review:
'Remarkably efficient [at] putting across conceptually difficult material ... Principles and Problems will continue to be essential reading for biochemistry undergraduates.' The Biochemist, June 2002

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION; 1. The consequences of physics and chemistry for life; THE ENERGETICS OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS; 2. Basic thermodynamics; 3. Chemical potential and multiple component systems; 4. Binding of ligands to macromolecules; 5. Acids, bases and pH regulation; 6. Oxidation-reduction reactions and electrochemistry; 7. Properties of solutions; 8. Ideal and non-ideal systems; THE RATES OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS; 9. Basic chemical kinetics and single-step reactions; 10. Applications of chemical kinetics to multi-step reactions; 11. Catalysis and enzyme kinetics; 12. Multi-substrate enzyme kinetics and enzyme inhibition; 13. Coupled reactions and biochemical pathways; ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE; 14. Quantum mechanics: particles, waves and the quantization of energy; 15. Electrons in atoms; 16. Bonding in molecules; 17. Introduction to atomic and molecular spectroscopy; 18. Non-covalent interactions and macromolecular structure; APPENDICES; A1 note on units and constants; A2 Mathematical tools needed for this text; A3 Answers to problems