Computational Methods in Chemistry and Biochemistry Education: Visualization of Proteins

Abstract

One of the most important skills for a biochemist these days is to be able to visualize a protein, find a ligand binding site, and show the three-dimensional interactions with the coordinated amino acid residues. It is important to educate a modern student how to benefit from the up-to-date scientific data and software. It is known that the primary structure of protein is of primary information content; however, the tertiary structure is more conserved. Biochemistry students are educated in a traditional way giving an importance to developing fundamental skills as well as critical thinking. In this article, we demonstrate educational approaches that incorporate computational methods in the course Biochemistry A–CHEM 370. This approach is developed at Loyola University Chicago and is based on a pedagogical method developed at Orenburg State Medical University.