Medicinal Chemistry (8343.4)

This unit aims to develop the ability of students to correlate chemical structure with the physicochemical properties and biological activity of drug molecules. These principles will be applied to the design, production and optimisation of both historical and new drug entities. This unit will integrate the concepts of structure ? activity relationships and the chemistry behind drug activity with the processes and techniques used in the chemical synthesis of pharmacological agents. Synthesis and retrosynthesis of antifungal drugs, antibacterial drugs, central nervous system agents, antibiotics, illicit drugs, drugs for ADHD, Parkinson, mental depression diseases and their mode of actions will be discussed. This unit is co-taught with Medicinal Chemistry G.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Recognise chemical structures of common medicinal agents and understand the reactivity of common functional groups;

2. Describe the mode of action of biologically active compounds;
3. Be familiar with the methods used to develop new chemical entities with pharmacologic activity as well as optimise existing drugs;
4. Apply their knowledge to the chemical basis for synthesis of medicinal products and relate their chemical knowledge to the issues confronting pharmaceutical scientists;
5. Use the organic reactions that they have previously encountered to design syntheses of biologically active compounds;
6. Use their knowledge about functional groups and properties to predict the physical and chemical properties of the biologically active compounds; and
7. Develop their generic skills and attributes in communication and lifelong learning.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology

Prerequisites

Chemistry 1b, 1517, or equivalent.

Corequisites

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

Basics in chemistry.