Medicinal Chemistry - Standard Level

This unit was planned as part of the Chemistry IB Option D - Medicinal Chemistry scheme of work, and covers all the topics at SL. It would also be suitable for other schemes of work.

It includes 6 full PowerPoints, along with student versions to use as notes, which have spaces for the students to add in missing information and activities for them to complete.

It also includes exam questions for practice or assessment purposes

Topics covered are:

Pharmaceutical Products and Drug Design

- Routes of drug administration
- Theraputic Effects of Drugs
- The Placebo Effect
- Side Effects
- Calculation of the Therapeutic Index
- The Therapeutic Window
- Bioavailability
- Tolerance and Addiction
- Drug Action
- Drug Development by both Drug Design and Drug Discovery

Aspirin and Penicillin

- History of Aspirin
- Method of Producing Aspirin
- Calculating the % Yield of Aspirin produced from Salicyclic Acid
- Effects of Aspirin
- Soluble Aspirin
- Development of Penicillin
- Structure of Penicllin
- How Penicillin Works
- Antibiotic Resistance

Opiates

- Morphine: Structure and action; side effects; withdrawal
- How opiates cross the blood-brain barrier
- Diamorphine

pH regulation of the stomach

- The need for stomach acid
- pH calculations to determine the concentration of acid in the stomach
- Antacids: equations for their reactions with stomach acid; side effects; calculation of quantity of acid neutralised
- Regulation of acid production using both H2-histamine receptor blockers (Zantac) and proton pump inhibitors (Omeprazole and Esomeprazole)
- Acid-base buffers: definition and calculations
- Hydrogencarbonate and carbonate buffers

Antivirals

- The differences between viruses and bacteria
- The structure of viruses
- How viruses reproduce and replicate
- How viruses are treated by interrupted stages of the replication process
- Oseltamivir and Zanamivir - structure and action
- HIV and AIDS
- Treatment of HIV and AIDS

Environmental impacts of Biochemistry

- Effects of PACs on the environment
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Nuclear Waste (both LLW and HLW)
- Chlorinated solvent waste
- Supercritical fluid waste
- Green Chemistry
- Biotechnologies in Green Chemistry