CH3040 - Advanced Medicinal Chemistry

This subject will examine the medicinal chemistry relevant to the process of drug discovery and development as practised in the modern pharmaceutical industry. Building on the material covered in second year, it will develop in students a knowledge of the research tools which are applied in the drug discovery process. Topics in this subject may include: high throughput screening, computational chemistry and molecular modelling, QSAR, combinatorial synthesis techniques, pharmaceutical degradation and the use of natural products or derivatives thereof in pharmaceuticals.

Learning Outcomes

• explain routes of pharmaceutical degradation and solve model problems on the kinetics of this process;
• employ preparative techniques to synthesise model pharmaceuticals and undertake their analysis in a practical setting;
• discuss modern strategies used in the drug discovery and development process;
• assess the role chemical functionalities of a drug molecule and their changes have on its pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics;
• identify natural products classes and explain their role in the drug discovery process.

Subject Assessment

• Written > Examination (centrally administered) - (70%) - Individual
• Performance/Practice/Product > Practical assessment/practical skills demonstration - (30%) - Individual.

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.