Book Preface

Essentials of Foye’s Principles of Medicinal Chemistry

Essentials of Essentials

The authors of the Essentials text want readers to glean the most from this abbreviated and focused medicinal chemistry resource. In this first chapter, we share the rationale behind the development of the book and provide guidance for its optimal use to advance chemical understanding and appreciate its practical relevance to contemporary pharmacy practice.

Essentials of Foye’s Principles of Medicinal Chemistry

Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry: Drug Receptors and General Drug Metabolism

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this chapter the student should be able to:

1 Define what a receptor is and its role in the pharmacological activity of a drug.

2 Discuss the physicochemical factors that govern drug–receptor bonding and affinity.

3 Given a drug structure predict possible drug–receptor binding interactions.

4 Explain the different types of drug receptors and how they produce their effects when a drug binds.

5 Discuss the different classes of drug metabolism reactions.

6 Differentiate factors that affect drug metabolism.

7 Discuss drug–drug and drug–dietary interactions.

8 Distinguish between drugs that inhibit metabolism and those that induce metabolism.

9 List the different types of phase 1 and phase 2 metabolic reactions.

10 Given a drug structure draw the possible metabolic reactions.

11 Explain the importance of membrane drug transporters to the pharmacokinetic profiles of drug molecules.