Book Description

Medication is widely used to support the human body to fight against infection and pain. In an era of pharmaceutical and medicinal challenges, we have all become more familiar with drug production and distribution. However, do we really know what happens before those drugs are distributed? What's the process behind drug discovery? How do our bodies interact with those chemicals? An Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry, 7th edition, offers a complete and accessible approach to this multidisciplinary field. Its student-friendly writing style makes this text an ideal tool for those coming to the subject for first time, but also for students looking to deepen their understanding. The book guides students through understanding the principles of drug action targets in Part A, to how drugs interact at a molecular level with our organs to offer therapeutic value in Part B, and exploring drug design and discovery, as well as regulatory procedures in Part C. Offering a practical approach, Part D provides a deeper look at specific tools and techniques of medicinal chemistry, concluding with emerging topics including antibodies and anticancer agents in Part E. From principles to practice, accompanied by examples and case studies emerging from current biomedical research, the book will equip students with a robust understanding of medicinal chemistry, to prepare them for future success

Table of Contents

1 Drugs and drug targets: an overview

Part A Drug targets: structure and function

2 Protein structure and function

3 Enzymes: structure and function

4 Receptors: structure and function

5 Receptors and signal transduction

6 Nucleic acids: structure and function

Part B Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics

7 Enzymes as drug targets

8 Receptors as drug targets

9 Nucleic acids as drug targets

10 Miscellaneous drug targets

11 Pharmacokinetics and related topics

• Case study 1 Statins

Part C Drug discovery, design, and development

12 Drug discovery: finding a lead

13 Drug design: optimizing target interactions

14 Drug design: optimizing access to the target

15 Getting the drug to market

• Case study 2 The design of ACE inhibitors

• Case study 3 Artemisinin and related antimalarial drugs

• Case study 4 The design of oxamniquine

• Case study 5 Fosmidomycin as an antimalarial agent

Part D Tools of the trade

16 Combinatorial and parallel synthesis

17 In silico drug design

18 Quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR)

• Case study 6 Design of a thymidylate synthase inhibitor

Part E Selected topics in medicinal chemistry

19 Antibacterial agents

20 Antiviral agents

21 Anticancer agents

22 Protein kinase inhibitors as anticancer agents

23 Antibodies and other biologics

24 Cholinergics, anticholinergics, and anticholinesterases

25 Drugs acting on the adrenergic nervous system

26 The opioid analgesics

27 Anti-ulcer agents

28 Cardiovascular drugs

• Case study 7 Steroidal anti-inflammatory agents

• Case study 8 Current research into antidepressant agents

• Case study 9 The design and development of aliskiren

• Case study 10 Factor Xa inhibitors

• Case study 11 Reversible inhibitors of HCV NS3-4A protease