Understanding Bioanalytical Chemistry - Principles And Applications

"The title captures the ethos and content precisely. It brings basic chemistry into real life with examples that illustrate how chemical principals are inherent to bioanalytical procedures, making them accessible to readers with a background in life sciences." -Microbiology Today, July 2009


“… a good overview of the basic strategies to tackle the complexity of analysis in biological environments and provides some illustrative examples for a better understanding of the theoretical concepts… provides a fundamental introduction to the tools adopted by life and health scientists in the evolving and exciting new age of “omics” specifically applied to the diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of disease…” -Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, October 2009


Although chemistry is core to the life and health sciences, it is often viewed as a challenging subject.


Conventional textbooks tend to present chemistry in a way that is not always easily accessible to students, particularly those coming from diverse educational backgrounds, who may not have formally studied chemistry before.





This prompted the authors to write this particular textbook, taking a new, fresh and innovative approach to teaching and learning of chemistry, focusing on bioanalysis to set knowledge in context. This textbook is primarily targeted to undergraduate life and health science students, but may be a useful resource for practising scientists in a range of disciplines.





In this textbook the authors have covered basic principles, terminology and core technologies, which include key modern experimental techniques and equipment used to analyse important biomolecules in diagnostic, industrial and research settings.





Written by two authors with a wealth of experience in teaching, research and academic enterprise, this textbook represents an invaluable tool for students and instructors across the diverse range of biological and health science courses.


Key Features:



* Innovative, stand alone teaching and learning resource to enhance delivery of undergraduate chemistry provision to life and health scientists.
* Develops student knowledge and understanding of core concepts with reference to relevant, real-life, examples.
* Clearly written and user-friendly, with numerous full colour illustrations, annotated images, diagrams and tables to enhance learning.
* Incorporates a modern approach to teaching and learning to motivate the reader and encourage student-centred learning.
* Dr Victor Gault has been named recipient of the Rising Star Award 2009 by the internationally acclaimed European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).

*
Innovative, stand alone teaching and learning resource to enhance delivery of undergraduate chemistry provision to the biomedical sciences

Dr Victor A Gault?and Dr Neville H McClenaghan, both of School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, UK.

"The authors have attempted to create a text that is more palatable for undergraduate cohorts, and they have succeeded well in this aim. … [A] useful introductory text on the fundamentals of bioanalytical chemistry." (Australian Biochemist, December 2009)
"This book provides a good introduction to the bioanalysis world … .The authors have succeeded in using real-life examples to illustrate chemical principles and applications." (Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, October 2009)
"The title captures the ethos and content precisely. It brings basic chemistry into real life with examples that illustrate how chemical principals are inherent to bioanalytical procedures, making them accessible to readers with a background in life sciences." (Microbiology Today, July 2009)

Contents





Preface





1 Introduction to biomolecules


1.1 Overview of chemical and physical attributes of biomolecules


1.2 Classification of biomolecules


1.3 Features and characteristics of major biomolecules


1.4 Structure–function relationships


1.5 Significance of biomolecules in nature and science





2 Analysis and quantification of biomolecules


2.1 Importance of accurate determination of biomolecules


2.2 Major methods to detect and quantify biomolecules


2.3 Understanding mass, weight, volume and density


2.4 Understanding moles and molarity


2.5 Understanding solubility and dilutions





3 Transition metals in health and disease


3.1 Structure and characteristics of key transition metals


3.2 Importance of transition metals in physiological processes


3.3 Transition metals as mediators of disease processes


3.4 Therapeutic implications of transition metals


3.5 Determination of transition metals in nature





4 Ions, electrodes and biosensors


4.1 Impact of ions and oxidation–reduction reactions on physical and life processes


4.2 pH, biochemical buffers and physiological regulation


4.3 Chemical and physical sensors and biosensors


4.4 Important measurements using specific electrodes


4.5 Specific applications of biosensors in life and health sciences





5 Applications of spectroscopy


5.1 An introduction to spectroscopic techniques


5.2 Major types of spectroscopy


5.3 Principles and applications of ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry 


5.4 Principles and applications of infrared spectroscopy


5.5 Principles and applications of fluorescence spectrofluorimetry





6 Centrifugation and separation


6.1 Importance of separation methods to isolate biomolecules


6.2 Basic principles underlying centrifugation


6.3 Features and components of major types of centrifuge 


6.4 Major centrifugation methods for bioanalysis


6.5 Flow cytometry: principles and applications of this core method of separation





7 Chromatography of biomolecules


7.1 Chromatography: a key method for separation and identification of biomolecules


7.2 Principles, types and modes of chromatography


7.3 Applications of chromatography in life and health sciences


7.4 High-performance liquid chromatography and advanced separation technologies


7.5 Additional state-of-the-art chromatography techniques





8 Principles and applications of electrophoresis


8.1 Principles and theory of electrophoretic separation


8.2 Major types of electrophoresis


8.3 Electrophoresis in practice


8.4 Applications of electrophoresis in life and health sciences


8.5 Advanced electrophoretic separation methodologies for genomics and proteomics





9 Applications of mass spectrometry


9.1 Major types of mass spectrometry


9.2 Understanding the core principles of mass spectrometry


9.3 Major types of mass spectrometry in practice


9.4 Mass spectrometry: a key tool for bioanalysis in life and health sciences


9.5 Mass spectrometry: future perspectives





10 Immunochemical techniques and biological tracers


10.1 Antibodies: the keys to immunochemical measurements


10.2 Analytical applications of biological tracers


10.3 Principles and applications of radioimmunoassay (RIA)


10.4 Principles and applications of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)


10.5 Immunohistochemistry: an important diagnostic tool





11 Bioanalysis by magnetic resonance technologies: NMR and MRI


11.1 Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies: key tools for the life and health sciences 


11.2 Principles of NMR and the importance of this biomolecular analytical technique 


11.3 Established and emerging applications of NMR


11.4 Principles and uses of MRI


11.5 MRI as a principal diagnostic and research tool





12 Bioanalytical approaches from diagnostic, research and pharmaceutical perspectives


12.1 Clinical genomics, proteomics and metabolomics


12.2 Clinical diagnosis and screening


12.3 Research and development


12.4 Emerging pharmaceutical products


12.5 Future perspectives





13 Self-Assessment





Appendix 1: International system of units (SI) and common prefixes


Appendix 2: The periodic table of the elements


Appendix 3: Common solvents and biological buffers


Appendix 4: Answers to self-assessment questions





Index