Selected problems of peptide- and protein chemistry

Thed course will expose and analyse up-to-date problems in the field of peptide- and protein chemistry. Each lecture will focus on a hot-topic and could be enjoyed even without attending lectures before or after. The common feature of the lectures is the chemistry (structure) oriented approach. The following topics are for illustrations. Cyclopeptides: preparation and application. Synthesis of lipopeptides. Peptides with reporter (fluorescent, radio- or spinlabelled) moiety.  Application of peptide analogues in structure-function studies. Introduction to proteomics. Proteases and their inhibitors in drug research. Matrix metalloprotases. Antigenic structure of proteins. Peptide epitopes and synthetic antigenes. Chromatography of membrane proteins. Mass spectrometry of post-translational modifications. Mucin glycoproteins. Targeting of drugs by peptides: application tumour diagnosis and therapy. Scavenger receptors: structure and function.

The course could attract PhD students interested in problems of synthesis as well as of analysis of bioactive peptides and proteins. Topics are suggested for students with strong interest in solving multidisciplinary problems in drug research, immunology, pharmacology, biophysics etc.