Chemistry and Biochemistry

Chemistry and biochemistry help you discover and explore the physical world in new, deeper ways.

Chemistry touches almost every aspect of our existence. It is the foundational science for biology, medicine, and earth and environmental sciences.

Chemistry explains the physical world and its processes, and chemists study the composition, structures, properties, and reactions of substances.

Biochemistry focuses on the study of life at the molecular level. It explores the chemistry of living organisms and the molecular basis for the processes that occur in living cells.

In chemistry and biochemistry, you will learn how the arrangements of atoms in chemical structures lead to their observed properties. You will use synthetic approaches to discover new chemical compounds that can impact in industries like pharmaceutical design and catalysis. You will learn how to quantify the amounts and concentrations of chemicals in the environment in areas such as air, water, and soil quality.

You will also learn how the chemicals in biological systems interact with one another on the molecular level, and in their environment. Chemistry and biochemistry are both rooted in solid physical and mathematical foundations.

Chemistry is one of only six subjects that has been taught since the University of Regina began as Regina College in 1911.

What is Chemistry and Biochemistry?

Chemistry is concerned with the properties of, and interactions between, all physical substances. Chemists develop, test, and regulate many parts of our everyday lives, including the creation of pharmaceuticals, food, and energy. Chemists are key to environmental monitoring and remediation, helping to protect public health and safety. They can also contribute to solving the world's energy and environmental problems. Chemists want to better understand the underlying nature of the physical world.

Biochemistry is concerned with the properties of substances, but only as they relate to living organisms. Generally, biochemists are interested in the parts of chemistry that directly affect life. Biochemistry also focuses on the functions of genetic material: DNA and various types of RNA that are coded to perform any number of tasks in the cell. Biochemistry is both a life science and a chemical science.

Some courses in chemistry and biochemistry at the U of R include:

Physical Chemistry I

Physical Chemistry I explores equilibrium and chemical thermodynamics, and includes a lab component with experiments in equilibria and thermodynamics.

Quantum Chemistry

Quantum Chemistry studies the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics and the application of quantum mechanics to chemical and spectroscopic problems. This course includes an introduction to computational chemistry.

Medicinal Plants and Culture

This course introduces students to key Indigenous bioactive (medicinal) plants, their biologically active compounds, and their importance in Indigenous culture. Students will use multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches to understanding plants and their medicinal properties.

Enzymes

The Enzymes course discusses the fundamentals of enzyme chemistry: kinetics, inhibition, structure and mechanism, activity control, protein folding and evolution.

Chemical Biology

Chemical biology is an interdisciplinary science where chemistry is applied to problems in biology. Topics include protein engineering/directed enzyme evolution, chemical genetics, genomics/proteomics, DNA/protein microarrays, catalytic antibody, ribozyme/DNAzyme, metabolic engineering, combinatorial biosynthesis, DNA nanotechnology, chemical ecology, bio-mimicry, biosensors, membrane transporters, and more.