General Objectives.
The general objective of the MEDICINAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY I course is to provide students with the rational foundations of modern medicinal chemistry, providing the specific chemical knowledge underlying the therapeutic action of drugs. The course is divided into two parts, including general medicinal chemistry and systematic medicinal chemistry. The general medicinal chemistry section analyzes the concepts and strategies for rational drug discovery and design, as well as the rules used in drug nomenclature. Knowledge of the pharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic phases allows for an understanding of the drug's pathway within the human body, from absorption to distribution to elimination through the excretory system. The study of the pharmacodynamic phase covers the various types of drug molecular targets, the interactions involved, and the consequences of these interactions. The systematic medicinal chemistry section covers the main classes of natural and synthetic antibacterial drugs (sulfonamides, quinolones, nitrochemotherapeutics, peptidoglycan synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics, penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, ribosome-inhibiting antibiotics, aminoglycosides, macrolides, tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, and ansamycins), antimycobacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, disinfectant, and topical anti-infective agents. Within each class, particular emphasis is placed on drug discovery and development, molecular mechanisms of action, the relationship between chemical structure and biological activity, the study of pharmacokinetic properties, the main therapeutic uses, toxicity profiles, potential interactions with other xenobiotics, and the synthesis of representative drugs. Upon completion of the course, students will possess the chemical knowledge underlying the therapeutic action of drugs. Students will be able to follow the drug design and development phases, understand drug absorption and distribution in the body, target interaction, metabolism, and excretion. The course will provide students with the chemical basis of the mechanism of action of each drug class covered and an understanding of the molecular modifications that influence the duration of action, routes of administration, and spectrum of action, and can improve clinical efficacy and safety. Students will also gain knowledge of the synthetic pathways leading to the production of some of the drugs covered in the course, especially with regard to production costs.
Specific Objectives
1. Student Knowledge and Understanding (Dublin Descriptor 1) The student will know and be able to understand all the main issues and strategies of drug discovery and rational design, the pharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic phases of drug action, the synthetic issues in drug preparation, and the main classes of antibacterial, antimycobacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antitumor, disinfectant, and topical anti-infective drugs.
2. Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding (Dublin Descriptor 2) At the end of the course, the student, applying the knowledge acquired, will be able to recognize a drug and classify it into one of the above categories, evaluate the structural variations within a drug class that improve or worsen its activity, and modulate absorption and duration of action. The student will be able to plan the synthesis of a specific drug or biologically active molecule. He or she will be able to apply this knowledge to hypothesize the interaction modes of a specific drug with its molecular target.
(Dublin descriptors 3, 4, 5 – soft skills)
3. Critical thinking and judgment skills (lab tests, written reports, etc.) By the end of the course, students will be able to evaluate the choice of a drug based on its chemical structure. This critical thinking and judgment will be developed through the ongoing interactivity offered during the course. The instructor will continuously ask students questions to stimulate them and develop their critical thinking. These questions will also serve to evaluate and encourage students to make connections with everything previously studied, avoiding considering the study of the material an exercise, but integrating the material in light of the knowledge already acquired.
4. Ability to communicate what has been learned. The student's evaluation will be assessed solely through an oral exam, which will cover all the topics of the program, testing the student's ability to communicate what they have learned.
5. Ability to continue studying independently. Students will find in-depth coverage of what they learned in class in the recommended textbooks and in scientific literature and will be able to use them to continue their studies independently. This will help them recall the topics covered even in the future, even when their memory of the concepts taught in class has faded. The textbooks will remain a point of reference for the student, who will know where to go to revisit in detail the concepts acquired in the past, some of which have inevitably been forgotten.
The general objective of the MEDICINAL AND TOXICOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY I course is to provide students with the rational foundations of modern medicinal chemistry, providing the specific chemical knowledge underlying the therapeutic action of drugs. The course is divided into two parts, including general medicinal chemistry and systematic medicinal chemistry. The general medicinal chemistry section analyzes the concepts and strategies for rational drug discovery and design, as well as the rules used in drug nomenclature. Knowledge of the pharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic phases allows for an understanding of the drug's pathway within the human body, from absorption to distribution to elimination through the excretory system. The study of the pharmacodynamic phase covers the various types of drug molecular targets, the interactions involved, and the consequences of these interactions. The systematic medicinal chemistry section covers the main classes of natural and synthetic antibacterial drugs (sulfonamides, quinolones, nitrochemotherapeutics, peptidoglycan synthesis-inhibiting antibiotics, penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, ribosome-inhibiting antibiotics, aminoglycosides, macrolides, tetracyclines, chloramphenicol, and ansamycins), antimycobacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, disinfectant, and topical anti-infective agents. Within each class, particular emphasis is placed on drug discovery and development, molecular mechanisms of action, the relationship between chemical structure and biological activity, the study of pharmacokinetic properties, the main therapeutic uses, toxicity profiles, potential interactions with other xenobiotics, and the synthesis of representative drugs. Upon completion of the course, students will possess the chemical knowledge underlying the therapeutic action of drugs. Students will be able to follow the drug design and development phases, understand drug absorption and distribution in the body, target interaction, metabolism, and excretion. The course will provide students with the chemical basis of the mechanism of action of each drug class covered and an understanding of the molecular modifications that influence the duration of action, routes of administration, and spectrum of action, and can improve clinical efficacy and safety. Students will also gain knowledge of the synthetic pathways leading to the production of some of the drugs covered in the course, especially with regard to production costs.
Specific Objectives
1. Student Knowledge and Understanding (Dublin Descriptor 1) The student will know and be able to understand all the main issues and strategies of drug discovery and rational design, the pharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic phases of drug action, the synthetic issues in drug preparation, and the main classes of antibacterial, antimycobacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antitumor, disinfectant, and topical anti-infective drugs.
2. Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding (Dublin Descriptor 2) At the end of the course, the student, applying the knowledge acquired, will be able to recognize a drug and classify it into one of the above categories, evaluate the structural variations within a drug class that improve or worsen its activity, and modulate absorption and duration of action. The student will be able to plan the synthesis of a specific drug or biologically active molecule. He or she will be able to apply this knowledge to hypothesize the interaction modes of a specific drug with its molecular target.
(Dublin descriptors 3, 4, 5 – soft skills)
3. Critical thinking and judgment skills (lab tests, written reports, etc.) By the end of the course, students will be able to evaluate the choice of a drug based on its chemical structure. This critical thinking and judgment will be developed through the ongoing interactivity offered during the course. The instructor will continuously ask students questions to stimulate them and develop their critical thinking. These questions will also serve to evaluate and encourage students to make connections with everything previously studied, avoiding considering the study of the material an exercise, but integrating the material in light of the knowledge already acquired.
4. Ability to communicate what has been learned. The student's evaluation will be assessed solely through an oral exam, which will cover all the topics of the program, testing the student's ability to communicate what they have learned.
5. Ability to continue studying independently. Students will find in-depth coverage of what they learned in class in the recommended textbooks and in scientific literature and will be able to use them to continue their studies independently. This will help them recall the topics covered even in the future, even when their memory of the concepts taught in class has faded. The textbooks will remain a point of reference for the student, who will know where to go to revisit in detail the concepts acquired in the past, some of which have inevitably been forgotten.
