Chapter 13: Option D – Medicinal Chemistry
Medicinal chemistry integrates concepts from chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and medicine to develop new pharmaceutical drugs. It encompasses the drug discovery and development process, exploring target identification, lead discovery, lead optimization, and clinical trials before achieving regulatory approval. The chapter also discusses drug action mechanisms and various common drug types, focusing on analgesics and antibiotics, emphasizing the battle against antibiotic resistance.
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What we have learnt
- Medicinal chemistry involves interdisciplinary approaches to drug discovery and development.
- The drug development process is complex and involves multiple phases from target identification to regulatory approval.
- Common drug types include analgesics that relieve pain and antibiotics that combat bacterial infections.
Key Concepts
- -- Drug Discovery
- The multi-stage process of identifying and developing new therapeutic drugs, including target identification and validation, lead discovery, and optimization.
- -- Lead Optimization
- The process of refining lead compounds to improve drug properties such as solubility and efficacy while reducing toxicity.
- -- Analgesics
- Drugs designed to relieve pain, classified into mild analgesics (like aspirin) and strong analgesics (like opioids).
- -- Antibiotics
- Substances that kill or inhibit bacterial growth, targeting processes unique to bacteria to ensure selective toxicity.
- -- Antibiotic Resistance
- The ability of bacteria to evolve and resist the effects of antibiotics, which poses a significant challenge in medical treatment.
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