CH321 Medicinal Chemistry

Course Policy | Grading Scale | Topics to be Covered | Links | Molecules in Motion | 

Reports

Text: "Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry" by Graham Patrick,  3rd Edition
(ISBN: 0199275009)

Students can make appointments before coming to see me in case they cannot come during my office hours. You are encouraged and most welcome to come to me anytime with any problem you might have in the course material or otherwise.

Course Background (top)

This course introduces the student to the basics of medicinal chemistry which includes history, structure of biomolecules, receptor mechanism, drug development, pharamacodynamics and pharmacodynamics. In addition we will discuss some classes of drugs in-depth e.g. antibacterial agents, central nervous system drugs etc.  A good background in organic chemistry is expected from  all students.  We will also be covering drug synthesis.

 Course Policy(top)

Attendance: It is advised that you attend all classes, simply because you cannot make up any missed quiz or report.

Class reports:  You will be assigned a number of short reports during the semester.  These will be based on the topic being covered in class.  In case you miss the class where the report topic was discussed you may obtain the topic and required information from the class web site.

Quizzes: Periodically there will quizzes given in class.  Most quizzes will be impromptu and will be about 10 mins long.  There will be absolutely no makeup quizzes.

Research Paper: A research paper will be due at the end of the semester.  It will be on a topic of your choice and under the following guidelines:

  • It should be on a current drug undergoing FDA approval or still in preclinical trials. 
  • The references should be within the last ten years unless there is a special need for it to be older, in which case please speak to me. 
  • The entire report should be between 9-11 pages excluding title page and references. (I don’t need a title page, you should have your name at the top of the report)

Class participation: We will be carrying out discussions and making presentations in class and all students are advised to actively participate in such events.  I will also prefer it if you are all punctual in class.

 Exams: There will be two exams. One mid-term and one final exam.  The final exam will be comprehensive.  There will be absolutely no makeup exams.  Please note the exam dates in your calendar and cancel any other engagements you might have for that day. 

Additional Comments (top)

There will be several hyperlinks provided in the class web site for your general information and research. You are strongly advised to bookmark the site for reference.  We will be learning more about research on the web, please familiarize yourself with the Internet if you have not already done so.

You are also expected to visit the Linda Hall Library or UMKC Medical School Library for research purposes.  I will announce it in class we will go as a class or independently.

Grading (top)
 

   Grading Scale   
Grading Policy
15% Class Reports Due as decided in class A- 85 and above
10% Research Paper 1st draft due on 27th Nov.
Final paper due on 4th Dec		 B-
C-		 75-84
60-74
10% Quizzes Periodically in class D-50-59
25% Mid-term Exam 9th Oct F- 49 and below
40% Final Exam   

Topics to be Covered(top)

PART A: Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
1. Drugs and the medicinal chemist
2. The why and the wherefore - drug targets
3. Proteins as drug targets
4. Proteins as drug targets - enzymes
5. Proteins as drug targets - receptors
6. Proteins as drug targets - receptor structure and signal transduction
7. Nucleic acids as drug targets
8. Pharmacokinetics and related topics
PART B: Drug discovery, design and development
9. Drug discovery - finding a lead
10. Drug design - pharmacodynamics
11. Drug design – pharmacokinetics
12. Drug development
PART C: Tools of the trade
13. Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR)
14. Combinatorial synthesis
15. Computers in medicinal chemistry
PART D: Topics in medicinal chemistry
16. Antibacterial agents
17. Antiviral drugs
18. Anticancer agents
19. The peripheral nervous system - cholinergics, anticholinergics, and anticholinesterases
20. The adrenergic nervous system
21. The opium analgesics
22. Anti-ulcer agents

External Links for Medicinal Chemistry (top)

  1. History of Medicinal Chemistry: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/index.html

  2. FDA Historical Milestones: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/miles.html 
  3. Industrial Medicinal Chemistry Sites:  http://www.acsmedchem.org/industry.html
  4. Drug Approval Process: http://www.fda.gov/cder/handbook/index.htm 
  5. Center for Drug Evaluation Research: http://www.fda.gov/cder/ 
  6. National Institute of Health: http://www.nih.gov/ 
  7. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry: http://pubs.acs.org/journals/jmcmar/ 
  8. MedlinePlus: http://www.medlineplus.gov/
  9. Medicinal Chemistry Glossary: http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iupac/medchem/ 
  10. Pharmacology Quiz: http://www.med.jhu.edu/medcenter/quiz/quiz.cgi?dbfield=drug&actionField=startup 
  11. Intro to Molecular Modelling: http://www.netsci.org/Science/Compchem/feature01.html  
  12. ChemWeb: http://www.chemweb.com/
  13. Medline Search: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?DB=pubmed
  14. Latest Clinical Trials: http://www.centerwatch.com/patient/studies/cat85.html 

Molecules in Motion(top)

  1. Molecular Library: http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/library/drugs/

  2. Interesting Molecules: http://www.reciprocalnet.org/edumodules/commonmolecules/biochemical/list.html#molecules
  3. 3D Virtual Chemistry: http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/vchemlib/mol/mol.html
  4. Software for viewing molecules in motion:
    Rasmol: http://www.umass.edu/microbio/rasmol/
    http://mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/Rasmol/
  5. NYU: http://www.nyu.edu/pages/mathmol/library/life/
  6. VMD Gallery: http://www.ks.uiuc.edu/Research/vmd/gallery/ (not in motion:-( )