CHM 416 - Medicinal Chemistry

Course unit(s): .5
Prerequisite(s): CHM 202 Organic Chemistry II or CHM 204, 206 Organic Chemistry IIA
In Medicinal Chemistry, students are provided with an overview of the pharmaceutical industry and the drug discovery process. Students focus on the impact of drug structure on pharmacokinetic properties (PK; i.e., what the body does to a drug) such as metabolism and absorption, properties that can significantly impact the success of a drug. Small- and large-molecule drugs are compared and contrasted using examples of each type. After building a foundation in PK, students apply their knowledge from the recent literature. Students are also exposed to computational drug discovery through a hands-on modeling experiment. Toward the end of the semester, students administer individual and group presentations and submit a review of a medicinal chemistry topic of their choice. This discussion-based half credit course meets for one 75-minute lecture once per week for the entire semester.