Medicinal and Biological Chemistry
|Course code CHEM3550||Units 10||Level 3000||Faculty of Science and Information TechnologySchool of Environmental and Life Sciences|
This course is designed to examine chemistry at the important interface between the chemical and biological sciences. The basic principles of synthetic and structural chemistry are applied to examination of the synthesis of biologically active molecules and drugs, and the structure, activity and interaction of biomolecules, including metalloproteins and natural products. The course aims to develop an understanding of the key features of the rational design of new medicinal agents. The importance of close links between the biological and chemical sciences will become apparent.
The course forms part of the accredited degree program required for Membership of Royal Australian Chemical Institute Inc. and Chartered Chemist qualifications.
This course has compulsory course components and students must:
1. must participate in and submit laboratory reports for the established minimum requirements and obtain a minimum passing grade of 50%; and
2. obtain a minimum passing grade of 40% in the final, end-of-semester examination for the course.
In order to participate in this course, students must complete a compulsory Health and Safety requirement. Students will receive full information on this compulsory component in the course outline provided by the school.
Available in 2014
|Objectives||On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:|
1. to develop expertise relevant to the professional practice of medicinal and biological chemistry
2. to develop an understanding of the range and chemistry of compounds of biological or medicinal relevance
3. to establish an appreciation of the role of the chemist in investigations of biological molecules
4. to develop an understanding of the role of the chemist in the development of drugs and pharmaceuticals
5. to provide an understanding of the principal tasks for the synthesis or isolation and characterization of natural molecules and proto-drugs
6. to provide experience in the scientific methods employed in natural products, bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry
7. to develop skills in procedures and instrumental methods applied in structure determination of natural molecules
8. to further develop skills in the scientific method of planning, developing, conducting, reviewing and reporting experiments
9. to develop some understanding of the professional, legal and safety responsibilities residing in working with natural and pharmaceutical products
|Content||The course involves study of:|
1) Natural Compounds:
a) the isolation of compounds from natural organisms such as bacteria, fungi, plants and invertebrate animals
b) applications of isolated compounds
2) Metal-containing Natural Compounds:
a) metal ions in natural systems, particularly metalloproteins and metalloenzymes
b) the role of the metal ion in these biomolecules
c) the development of synthetic model systems to mimic natural enzymes
3) Medicinal Compounds:
a) the range and role of synthetic molecules in medicine
b) current approaches to the chemical synthesis of new drugs
c) current approaches to the rational design and development of new drugs.
|Assumed Knowledge||CHEM2210 and CHEM2310|
|Modes of Delivery||Internal Mode|
|Teaching Methods||Problem Based Learning|
|Contact Hours||Lecture: for 2 hour(s) per Week for 13 weeks|
Tutorial: for 1 hour(s) per Week for 12 weeks
Laboratory: for 3 hour(s) per Week for 12 weeks
|Timetables||2014 Course Timetables for CHEM3550|