Biophysical Chemistry: Physical Principles, Water, and Quantum Effects in Biolog (403-0-01)

Topic

Physical Principles, Water, and Quantum Effects in

Instructors

Songi Han

Meeting Info

Technological Institute M128: Mon, Wed, Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

Overview of class

Biophysical Chemistry explores how quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetics govern life's molecular mechanisms. Emphasizing water's unique role and non-trivial quantum effects in warm, wet environments, the course reveals physical laws dictating biological possibilities—from protein folding and enzyme tunneling to photosynthesis and magnetoreception.

Biophysical Chemistry bridges the core principles of physical chemistry with the molecular mechanisms that govern life. The course emphasizes how quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and kinetics explain biological structure, function, and dynamics, with special focus on the central and unique role of water in biology and the non-trivial role of quantum effects in warm, wet environments. Rather than treating biology as a collection of examples, we explore how fundamental physical laws dictate what is possible (and impossible) in living systems: protein folding, membrane formation, enzyme catalysis (including quantum tunneling), molecular recognition, signal transduction, photosynthesis (with debates on coherence), vision, magnetoreception (radical-pair mechanism), super-radiance in cytoskeletal structures, and the origin of life itself—highlighting how quantum phenomena, alongside classical processes, enable remarkable efficiency and specificity in noisy thermal conditions.

Key Themes
Thermodynamics in biological systems
Water as the matrix of life
Biomolecular energy landscapes
Free-energy transduction and biological work
From microscopic interactions to macroscopic biological function
The increasing role of quantum effects in warm, wet biology

Class Materials (Required)

None

Class Materials (Suggested)

Title: Physical Chemistry for the Biological Sciences 2nd Ed
Author: Hammes & Hammes-Schiffer
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 9781118974155
Approx. price: $197 ebook

Title: Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology
Author: Al-Khalili & McFadden
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 9780307986825
Approx. price: $20

Title: Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water
Author: Philip Ball
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux / UC Press
ISBN: 9780374186289
Approx. price: $25

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: REASON: Pre-registration is not allowed for this class. Please try again during regular registration.