CHEM 443: Principles of Medicinal Chemistry II

Spring 2006

 

Any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments or accommodations is requested to speak with Dr. Lapinsky during the first two weeks of class.  All discussions will remain confidential.  Students with disabilities will need to also contact Disability Support Services in the Ley Student Center.

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People:

 

This course is being taught by Dr. David J. Lapinsky.

Office: 241 Dell Butcher Hall

Office phone: 713-348-3069

Fax: 713-348-4500

Email: lapinsky@rice.edu

Personal website: http://www.geocities.com/drlapinsky/home.html

 

Course website: http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~chem443/

 

The secretary for this course is Naomi Duval.

Office: 244 Dell Butcher Hall

Office phone: 713-348-3479

Email: nduval@rice.edu

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Course Description:

 

This course emphasizes organic chemical principles and reactions vital to drug design and drug action.  Clinically important drugs will be used as examples.  The course is aimed at undergraduates and graduates who have a basic grounding in chemistry and are interested in learning about drug design and the molecular mechanisms by which drugs act in the body.  Consequently, the course is of particular interest to students who might be considering a future career in the pharmaceutical industry or a medical field.  It attempts to convey something of the fascination of working in a field that overlaps the disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, and pharmacology.

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Prerequisites and Expectations:

 

1.) CHEM 211 and CHEM 212 (Organic Chemistry sequence at Rice University)

 

I work under the assumption that you know all the material covered in “Organic Chemistry: Structure and Function”, 4th edition, Vollhardt & Schore.  As a result, things like stereochemistry, proper electron pushing, etc. will not be re-taught to you.  If you find yourself having trouble with any particular background aspect of organic chemistry, please see me as soon as possible.  Otherwise, I assume you know and will be able to apply anything from sophomore-level organic chemistry.  This aspect of the class is particularly important because some quiz / exam questions are based solely on using your chemical intuition rather than simply regurgitating something directly from lecture.  It is perfectly fair to ask you something based on sophomore-level organic chemistry with a medicinal chemistry focus even though the exact details were not discussed in lecture.  In other words, anything from sophomore-level organic chemistry is fair game.  You should be able to propose a mechanism for every reaction we discuss in class where applicable.

 

2.) Some background in biochemistry (though not a necessity)

 

It is assumed that the student has taken a course in organic chemistry that included the bioorganic components – amino acids, proteins, and carbohydrates (sufficiently covered by the organic sequence at Rice University or the concluding chapters of “Organic Chemistry: Structure and Function”, 4th edition, Vollhardt & Schore)  – and is familiar with organic structures and basic organic reaction mechanisms.  Only the chemistry and biochemistry background information pertinent to understanding the material will be discussed.  If you find yourself having trouble with any particular background aspect of biochemistry, please see me as soon as possible.  Otherwise, I assume you know and will be able to apply anything from the biological aspects discussed via a sophomore-level organic chemistry course.

 

Whatever the case and in any regard, it should be made clear to you what “background information” you are responsible for.  If there are any doubts as to what is expected of you as a student, please ask immediately.

 

3.) CHEM 442 (“Principles of Medicinal Chemistry I”) is not a prerequisite for CHEM 443 (“Principles of Medicinal Chemistry II”) or vice versa.  Any fundamental topics introduced and discussed in CHEM 442 will be reviewed for the CHEM 443 student.

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Time and Location:

 

Lecture will begin promptly at 9:00am and end at 9:50am, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 102 Baker Hall.

 

 

 

Office Hours:

 

Dr. Lapinsky will have office hours immediately after each class for one hour for anyone who approaches him at the end of class or who has previously scheduled a meeting by email.

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Text Book / References:

 

It is not a student requirement to purchase any of the references given below, though they best summarize a medicinal chemist’s reference library.  Lecture material will be derived from these references and numerous other sources including up-to-date information on the web.

 

1.) Patrick, “An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry”

2.) Williams and Lemke, “Foye’s Principles of Medicinal Chemistry”

3.) “Wilson & Gisvold’s Textbook of Organic Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry”

4.) Silverman, “The Organic Chemistry of Drug Design and Drug Action”

5.) Lednicer, “Strategies for Organic Drug Synthesis and Design”

6.) Li, Johnson, Sliskovic, and Roth, “Contemporary Drug Synthesis”

7.) “Top Pharmaceuticals: A Look at Drugs That Changed Our World”, Chemical and Engineering News, June 20, 2005.

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Grades:

 

Grading will consist of:

13 X 20-point journal homework assignments (due Mondays) = 260 points

12 X 20-point in-class cumulative quizzes (on Fridays) = 240 points

1 X 200-point cumulative final

Total = 700 points

 

No grades will be dropped.  Letter grades will be assigned from numerical grades based on a curve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calendar of events:

 

January

Wednesday January 11th, 2006 – First day of class

Monday January 16th, 2006 – No Class (MLK Day)

Friday January 20th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#1)

Monday January 23rd, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#1)

Friday January 27th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#2)

Monday January 30th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#2)

 

February

Friday February 3rd, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#3)

Monday February 6th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#3)

Friday February 10th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#4)

Monday February 13th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#4)

Friday February 17th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#5)

Monday February 20th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#5)

Friday February 24th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#6)

Monday February 27th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#6)

 

March

Friday March 3rd, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#7)

Monday March 6th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#7)

Friday March 10th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#8)

Monday March 13th, 2006 – No Class (Midterm Recess)

Wednesday March 15th, 2006 – No Class (Midterm Recess)

Friday March 17th, 2006 – No Class (Midterm Recess)

Monday March 20th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#8)

Friday March 24th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#9)

Monday March 27th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#9)

Friday March 31st, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#10)

 

April

Monday April 3rd, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#10)

Friday April 7th, 2006 – No Class (Spring Recess)

Monday April 10th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#11)

Friday April 14th, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#11)

Monday April 17th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#12)

Friday April 21st, 2006 - In-class cumulative quiz (#12)

Monday April 24th, 2006 – Journal homework assignment due (#13)

 

 

 

 

Journal Homework Assignments

 

20 points each X 13 = 260 points total

Collected Mondays at the beginning of class.  Late homework will not be accepted.

 

Choose an article of interest to you from any of the medicinal chemistry related journals below.  All of these journals can be found online via the Fondren Library website.

 

Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry

Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters

Current Medicinal Chemistry

Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry

Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

Current Pharmaceutical Design

Journal of Natural Products

Letters in Drug Design and Discovery

 

These journal homework assignments cannot be more than 3 pages long (front-side only) and may be hand-written or computer typed.

 

Pages 1 and 2:

Write a brief summary of the article of interest using short descriptive bullet statements and structures.  Highlight only the main points and conclusions of the article while avoiding insignificant statements.  From reading your summary, I should be able to get a clear picture of what the article was about and why / how the researchers were doing the research they were doing without having to read the article myself.  Your summary should only feature the “take home” messages of the article and paint a clear picture.  The clearer the picture I get about the research described in your summary, the better your grade.

 

Page 3:

Write a detailed electron pushing mechanism for any organic transformation found within the article.  In other words, you must choose an article where some kind of organic synthesis was performed.

 

For a representative example of style and format for journal homework assignments, please see the attached example at the end of the syllabus.

 

 

 

 

In-Class Cumulative Quizzes

 

20 points each X 12 = 240 points total

 

A ca. 15-minute in-class quiz will be given at the beginning of class on Fridays.  No make-up quizzes will be offered.  Although the quizzes are termed “cumulative”, more than likely they will focus on material covered in lecture over the past week.  Solutions to the quizzes will be posted on the course web site in a timely fashion.  For examples of testing style, see the course website for CHEM 442 or CHEM 443.

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Regrading Quizzes / Exams and “Nickel and Dime” Policy:

 

You have one week from the time that a quiz / exam is handed back to request a regrade for an incorrectly graded quiz / exam.  The entire quiz / exam will be re-graded at that time.

 

If you feel there has been an error in grading you should write, on a separate piece of paper, the corrections you feel are needed, staple this to your original and unaltered quiz / exam and submit them together to Naomi Duval (x3479; room DBH 244; email: nduval@rice.edu).

 

Note that if you desire a re-grade, do not write anything new on your quiz / exam or erase anything old.  Hand it back for a re-grade just as you received it.  Simply write, on a separate piece of paper (!), the corrections you feel are needed, and staple them to the quiz / exam.  Then submit it all to Naomi Duval within the one-week re-grade return period.

 

Please note that since the entire quiz / exam will be regraded by Dr. Lapinsky that it is possible that your quiz / exam score will go down rather than up.

 

Quizzes and exams are graded in the student’s favor, especially when it comes to questions regarding partial credit.  Students submitting their quiz / exam for a regrade and wishing to “nickel and dime” for additional points should note that if they choose this option, their quiz / exam will be regraded under the utmost scrutiny with a fine-toothed comb.  In other words, if you “nickel and dime” me, I reserve the right to “nickel and dime” you.  Students choosing to “nickel and dime” should be fair warned that it is highly possible that your quiz / exam score will go down rather than up.

 

 

 

 

Attendance:

 

Attendance will not be taken.  However, attendance of lecture is highly recommended especially since we are not following a formal textbook and lecture material is presented from the most updated / recent sources.  Students are responsible for all material discussed during lecture and corresponding handouts.  There is a strong correlation between attendance of lecture and success on the quizzes / exams.

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Note taking:

 

I tend to lecture using the blackboard and students are encouraged to take notes.  However, sometimes I will use transparencies during lecture.  Access to these transparencies will either be in the form of handouts distributed before or during class, or posted on the course website in a timely fashion.  Rather than a bound notebook, students might find it easier to purchase a 3-ring binder in order to organize and accommodate the lecture notes and corresponding handouts for this course.

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Potential Topics of Discussion (Subject to Change)

 

- Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Agents

- DNA and Classes of Drugs That Interact with DNA (ex. Cancer)

- Antiviral Agents and Protease Inhibitors (HIV, AIDS)

- Drugs Affecting Cholinergic, Adrenergic, and Dopaminergic Neurotransmission (ex. Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Depression, etc.)

 

Within these topics, fundamental principles of medicinal chemistry will be presented such as:

- Drug Design and Relationship of Functional Groups to Pharmacological Activity

- Receptors and Drug Action

- Drug Design Through Enzyme Inhibition

- Drug Metabolism and Prodrug Design

- Peptidomimetics and Peptides as Drug Candidates

- Drug Synthesis

 

The course is “played by ear” with respect to time, so material and topics are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

 

 

 

 

Other Notes:

 

1.) Memorizing and / or regurgitation of chemical structures

 

It is not fair to ask you to memorize or regurgitate a complex chemical structure  (i.e. draw Taxol), but rather to be able to recognize a molecule by its structure (i.e. recognize the structure of Taxol), especially the key functionalities with respect to drug action.  However, it is fair to ask you to draw the structure of a molecule if its structure is highly correlated with drug action via structural mimicry (This will become apparent throughout the semester).  Any “other” molecules whose structure you would be expected to memorize should be disclosed during lecture.

 

2.) Class handouts, reference articles, etc.

 

During the course of the semester, handouts, reprints, or references to medicinal chemistry articles will be distributed.  This effort is made in an attempt to increase student awareness towards medicinal chemistry and the potential impact it can have on our future.  Some of the articles will be based on material covered in lecture while others are of personal interest that I think you might find interesting as well.  Whatever the case, it should be made clear to you whether you are responsible for the material discussed in these class handouts, reference articles, etc. as they could serve as material for quizzes / exams.