UCL - The molecular aspect of drugs

[FARM1004]

[15h + 15h] 2 credits

Teacher(s): Paul Depovere, Jacques Poupaert, Etienne Sonveaux(coord.)

Language: French

Level: First

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

Application of the logic of general and organic chemistry to commercial drugs and pharmaceutical preparations.

Main themes

The main themes of this course are :
(i) Molecular formulas, molecular mass, doses, dilutions.
(ii) Structural formulas of drugs : organic functions, isomerism, stereoisomerism, acid-base properties, water solubility, partition coefficient.
(iii) Biopharmaceuticals : peptides and carbohydrates.
(iv) Basic chemical reactivity of drugs and prodrugs.

Content and teaching methods

The activity is a tutoring aimed to familiarize the students with the molecular structures and the structure-properties relationships of the medicinal specialities of the belgian market. The developed themes are : the structure, chemical functions, isomery and stereoisomery of the specialities in question, their acid-base properties in relation with their solubilities and hydrophobicity (link between molecular structure and log P), a first contact with active peptides, peptidomimetics and glycoconjugates, worked examples of the reaction of key functions with water as a function of pH.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisites :
Sufficient knowledge of French.
(i) when starting : having followed the MD1003 course "Chimie générale et minerale".
(ii) during the 2nd semester : following in parallel the MD1004 course "Chimie organique".

Evaluation : written examination measuring problem solving capabilities.