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Drug Discovery and Development Study Guide

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of the drug discovery and development process. It covers the foundational role of organic chemistry, detailing techniques such as extraction for isolating compounds, bioassays for testing biological activity, spectroscopy (LC-MS, NMR, IR) for structural identification, and synthesis for recreating molecules. The guide also touches upon calculating reaction yields and understanding basic chemical principles like acid-base reactions and molecular intera

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Antibiotic Discovery, Development, and Laboratory Techniques

Antibiotics and Bacterial Characteristics

Bacteria exist in many shapes and can be classified by Gram's test, nomenclature, or their role in health and disease.

  • Bacterial shapes
  • Bacterial division
  • Gut bacteria functions
  • Bacteriostatic drugs
  • Bactericidal drugs
  • Streptococci
  • Staphylococci
  • Gram's test
  • Gram negative bacteria
  • Gram positive bacteria
  • Antibiotic resistance
  • Antibiotic targets
  • Bacterial virulence factors

Drug Discovery and Development Processes

The drug discovery process involves identifying diseases, validating pharmaceutical targets, identifying lead molecules, and optimizing lead molecules through preclinical and clinical trials.

  • Therapeutic index
  • Protein-ligand interactions
  • Ionic interactions
  • Hydrogen bonds
  • Dipole-dipole moments
  • Lead identification
  • High-throughput screening
  • Structure-based design
  • Computer-aided design
  • Structure-activity relationships
  • Pharmacophore
  • Pharmacokinetic properties

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Antibiotics

This topic covers pharmacokinetics involving absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, as well as pharmacodynamics regarding drug-receptor interaction and biological response.

  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Pharmacodynamics
  • ADME
  • Absorption
  • Distribution
  • Metabolism
  • Excretion
  • Drug-receptor interaction
  • Systemic circulation
  • Membrane passage
  • Pinocytosis
  • Cytochrome P450
  • Xenobiotic metabolism
  • Renal clearance
  • Hepatic clearance

The Drug Discovery and Development Process

The drug discovery process involves identifying disease, validating pharmaceutical targets, identifying and optimizing lead molecules, and conducting preclinical and clinical trials.

  • Drug discovery process
  • Pharmaceutical target validation
  • Lead molecule optimization
  • Preclinical trials
  • Clinical trials phases
  • Patent protection
  • Large-scale production
  • Good Manufacturing Practice
  • In vivo metabolism and toxicity
  • ADME prediction

Introduction to Medicines of Tomorrow

An investigation into the discovery and identification of novel pharmaceuticals through organic chemistry, extraction, bioassay, and spectroscopic techniques.

  • Organic chemistry
  • Bacteria and antibiotics
  • Drug development
  • Extraction
  • Solubility in immiscible liquids
  • Polar and non-polar compounds
  • Bioassay
  • Antibacterial effect
  • Spectroscopy
  • Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
  • Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
  • Infrared spectroscopy (IR)
  • Synthesis

Bioassay and Antibacterial Testing Procedures

This content covers antibacterial testing using E-coli, the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, and practical laboratory techniques for bioassays.

  • Bioassay
  • E-coli (Escherichia coli)
  • Antibiotic susceptibility
  • Zones of inhibition
  • Sterile technique
  • Contamination minimization
  • Automated pipettes

Chemical Synthesis and Laboratory Techniques

Perform chemical reactions to create a desired product using extraction, drying, filtration, and evaporation while calculating synthesis yield.

  • Chemical reactions
  • Reaction mechanisms
  • Extraction
  • Drying
  • Filtration
  • Evaporation
  • Yield calculation
  • Theoretical amount of product
  • Limiting reagent
  • Organic lab techniques
  • Spectroscopy
  • IR
  • NMR
  • MS
  • Bioassay
  • Pipetting

Organic Synthesis, Spectroscopy, and Antibacterial Testing

Medicines of Tomorrow Organic Chemistry and Microbiology

An examination of organic chemistry synthesis, spectroscopic analysis, liquid-liquid extraction, and antibacterial testing methods.

  • acid-base extraction
  • liquid-liquid extraction
  • organic chemistry synthesis
  • stoichiometry
  • theoretical yield
  • 1H NMR spectroscopy
  • infrared (IR) spectroscopy
  • mass spectrometry (MS)
  • structure elucidation
  • chemical shift
  • antibiotics
  • bacteriostatic vs bactericidal
  • gram-positive vs gram-negative bacteria
  • therapeutic index

Fundamentals of Molecular Structure, Stereochemistry, and Reactivity

Isomers and Stereochemistry Introduction

This reading introduces constitutional isomers and stereoisomers, explaining chiral carbons, enantiomers, and the R/S system used to describe the three-dimensional arrangement around a stereocentre.

  • constitutional isomers
  • stereoisomers
  • chiral carbons
  • stereocentres
  • enantiomers
  • R/S system
  • three-dimensional arrangement

Isomers and Stereochemistry Fundamentals

This document explains how to identify a chiral carbon and use wedge-and-dash notation to represent the three-dimensional arrangement of groups around a stereocentre.

  • chiral carbon
  • stereocentre
  • tetrahedral geometry
  • wedge-and-dash notation
  • three-dimensional space
  • stereoisomer

R/S Nomenclature and Stereochemistry

The R/S system is used to describe the three-dimensional arrangement of the groups around a stereocentre by assigning priorities based on atomic number.

  • R/S-nomenclature
  • stereocentre
  • assigning priorities
  • atomic number
  • absolute configuration

Fundamentals of Acid Base Reactions

This text defines acid-base reactions and explores how pKa values, equilibrium constants, and periodic trends determine acid strength.

  • Brönsted acid-base definition
  • Lewis acid-base definition
  • Proton transfer
  • Electron pair acceptors and donors
  • Equilibrium constant (Ka)
  • pKa values
  • pH and pKa relationship
  • Anion stability
  • Nucleophiles
  • Bond strength and ionic radius
  • Electronegativity trends
  • Periodic table acidity trends
  • Resonance and charge density
  • Carboxylate anion stability

Introduction to Acids and Bases

This material covers Bronsted definitions of acids and bases, the role of pKa and acid constants in proteolysis, and the behavior of organic molecules.

  • Bronsted definition of acids and bases
  • Proton transfer reaction
  • Conjugated base
  • Acid constant (Ka)
  • pKa value
  • Strong acids and weak acids
  • Proteolysis
  • Organic acids
  • Amines as proton acceptors
  • Resonance stabilization
  • Carboxylic acids
  • Alcohols
  • Acid/base equilibrium

Molecular Structure and Functional Groups

This reading introduces valence electrons, typical bonding patterns, Lewis structures, formal charge, the VSEPR model for molecular geometry, and common functional groups.

  • bonding patterns
  • octet rule
  • Lewis structures
  • formal charge
  • VSEPR model
  • molecular geometry
  • hybridization
  • functional groups
  • structural formulas
  • covalent bonds

Types of Organic Reactions

Organic reactions include addition, elimination, condensation, oxidation, and hydrolysis reactions.

  • addition reactions
  • elimination reactions
  • Markovnikov’s rule
  • dehydration reaction
  • condensation reactions
  • esterification
  • oxidation reactions
  • oxidation of alcohols
  • oxidation of thiols
  • hydrolysis
  • saponification

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