• Make a critical assessment and describe published research results
• Organize collaboration in a heterogeneous academic research group
• Make presentations and discuss theoretical background and experimental results in English

• Explain the principles behind different affinity chromatographic and other chromatographic methods for protein purification.
• Plan and carry out experiments for characterization of proteins (different types of electrophoresis, amino acid and sequence analysis, mass spectrometry) and interpret the results obtained.
• Use databases and internet resources for analysis of protein chemical data.
• Isolate and culture cells from immunological organs from mice and buffy coats from human blood donors.
• Describe the principles behind different immunological and immunochemical techniques and perform experiments involving cell division and cytotoxicity assays, flow cytometry, sandwich and indirect ELISA.
• Identify different leukocytes by aid of differential staining, and via staining with fluorescence-conjugated antibodies.
• Perform experiments, and describe the principles of non-specific and antigen-specific immune responses
• Interpret and evaluate experimental results and compare and evaluate these in relation to published research results.

The overall objective of the course is to make the students familiar with different general and advanced biochemical, protein chemical, immunochemical and immunological techniques, and to gain insight and to understand how to plan and execute experiments, as well as to be able to describe the principles behind the different used techniques. During the course there will be an excursion to a biotech company.
The techniques dealt with in this course include:
Biochemical methodology: Extraction methods, preparative column chromatography (FPLC), including affinity chromatography, of biomacromolecules, analytical methods for characterization of biomacromolecules, e.g. gel electrophoresis, immunoelectrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, immunoblotting, protein identification by aid of mass spectrometry and database searching, Proteome analysis.
Immunological/immunochemical methologies: purification of cells from human peripheral blood. In vivo and in vitro analysis of immune function in mouse cells. Preparation of dendritic cells and analysis of cytokine production and expression of surface molecules. Purification of cell populations, specific and non-specific immune reactions, cytotoxicity assays with NK cells, flow cytometry, sandwich and indirect ELISA.

It is recommended to follow course 27301 Advanced Biochemistry in the fall term just before this course (27302).

Please contact the teacher for information on whether this course gives the student the opportunity to prepare a project that may participate in DTU´s Study Conference on sustainability, climate technology, and the environment (GRØN DYST). More information http://www.groendyst.dtu.dk/kursustilmelding.aspx