Bioanalytics

Abstract

The course will introduce students to a selected set of laboratory techniques that are foundational to modern biological research.

Objective

For each of the techniques covered in the course, the students will be able to explain: a) the physical, chemical and biological principles underlying the technique, b) the requirements for the sample, c) the type of raw data collected by the technique, d) the assumptions and auxiliarry information used in the interpretation of the data and e) how these data can be used to answer a given biological question. By the end of the course the students will be able to select the appropriate experimental technique to answer a given biological problem and will be able to discuss the advantages and limitations of individual techniques as well as how different techniques can be combined to gain a more complete understanding of a given biological questions.

Content

The course will be based on a combination of lectures, selfstudy elements and exercises. The focus will be on the following experimental techniques: - DNA sequencing - chromatography - mass-spectrometry - UV/Vis and fluorescence spectrometry - light microscopy - electron microscopy - X-ray crystallography - NMR spectroscopy

Resources