Chapter 2 - Medicinal Chemistry: Definitions and Objectives, Drug Activity Phases, Drug Classification Systems
Publisher SummaryMedicinal chemistry remains a challenging science that provides profound satisfaction to its practitioners and focuses on the discovery, development, identification, and interpretation of the mode of action of biologically active compounds at the molecular level. It is concerned with this interaction, focusing on the organic and biochemical reactions of drug substances with their targets. This is one aspect of drug chemistry. Other important aspects are the synthesis and the analysis of drug substances. The role of medicinal chemistry in drug development is most prominent in the following three steps: discovery, optimization, and development. The way of a drug into the body, to its target(s), and out again can be broken down into three mechanistically distinct phases, the second and third being partly simultaneous. During drug development, all three phases are investigated interdependently because structural changes required for one phase must not abolish suitability i Read more...
Peter Imming
Publication date: 2008/01/01