| CODE | PHR1027 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Pharmacy | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit considers the trajectory of events that drug discovery has sustained through its evolution - from serendipity to rational drug design. The schematics of the drug design process will be described. Combinatorial chemistry and computer modeling techniques are introduced. The importance of the stereochemical consideration that should be given to lead compounds is highlighted. Principles of QSAR are introduced, including the contribution of different functional groups to biological function and the contribution of different bond type stabilization within a ligand binding pocket. The utility of X-Ray crystallography in rational drug design is described, as is the evolution of graphical cue depth technology to facilitate molecular visualisation. Study-unit Aims: - To introduce the basic concepts of medicinal chemistry; - To lay the foundations for Medicinal Chemistry 1;2;3 and Computational Chemistry Project 1;2;3. - To establish the principles of what makes organic molecules 鈥渄rug-like鈥�; - To establish the premise of rationality in drug design; - To highlight the economic implications of the rational drug design process. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the principles of rational drug design; - Differentiate between a molecule that is a good ligand and one that has the potential to become a clinically useful drug; - Use Lipinski and Veber鈥檚 laws as predictors of bioavailability; - Explain the impact of biological membranes on in vivo bioavailability; - Assimilate the utility and the limitations of rational drug design; - To explain agonism and antagonism from an atomic perspective; - To implement structural molecular modifications to mitigate physiological barrier losses. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Understand first principles of rational drug design; - Appreciate that for a novel structure to be clinically viable, both structural and bioavailability considerations must be met; - Appreciate the financial constraints under which contemporary drug design operates, and recognize these as being driving forces for standardization of the drug discovery process. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: King FD. Medicinal Chemistry Principles & Practice. Cambridge (UK): The Royal Society of Chemistry. 2002. ISBN 978-0-85404-631-7. Thomas G. Medicinal Chemistry An Introduction. West Sussex (UK): Wiley. 2004. ISBN 0471489352. Patrick GL. An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry. Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press. 2002. ISBN 9780199234479. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Claire Shoemake |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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