School of Physical and Geographical Sciences  
 
 
CHE-30009 Research Topics in Biological and Medicinal Chemistry  
Co-ordinator: Dr Michael Edwards   Tel:33252  
Teaching Team:  
Lecture Time: See Timetable...  
Level: 3 Credits: 15 Study Hours: 150  
School Office:
 
 
 
Programme/Approved Electives for
Chemistry Major (Level 3)
Medicinal Chemistry Minor (Level 3)
Available as a Free Standing Elective
No
Prerequisites
Successful completion of Level 2 Chemistry or equivalent.
Barred Combinations
None
Description

This module examines wide-ranging topics that are of significant importance to research in Biological and Medicinal Chemistry. The topics covered are drawn from the research interests and expertise of academic staff and include topics such drug discovery, chemotherapy, bioorganic chemistry and metabolism, natural product chemistry, advanced synthetic organic reactions and the appropriate reactions mechanisms. You will become familiar with detailed aspects of contemporary research and will be able to integrate the topics with the concepts that you have previously studied during your course. You will also produce a critique of a peer-reviewed research paper involving the use of online databases.
Aims
This module aims to further develop aspects introduced at Levels 2 and 3 by focusing on the development and application of selected research topics that are of relevance to Biological and Medicinal Chemistry. To gain an appreciation of how scientific knowledge progresses through research
and the use of the peer-reviewed literature.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Evaluate targets for antibiotics within a bacterial cell and classify a range of drugs in terms of their mode of action (1).
Describe the mechanism of action of a range of drug molecules (1).
Apply the principles of biosynthesis and metabolism (1).
Describe and apply a range of methods for the isolation, purification, structural characterization,chemical analysis and biological testing of natural and synthetic bioactive compounds (1).
Design and apply routes for the synthesis of target compounds of biological and medicinal relevance, particularly using intermediates based on organosulfur, organosilicon and organoselenium chemistry, (1).
Predict the products and write reaction mechanisms for a range of organic reactions (1).
Analyse and evaluate a paper form the peer reviewed literature in terms of its scientific content and impact through reference to cited and citing papers, the retrieval and interpretation of citation maps, journal citation reports and other metrics relating to peer-reviewed scientific literature using databases such as the ISI Web of Knowledge.(2)
Study hours
Lectures: 36 hours
Coursework: 30 hours
Private study and revision: 84 hours
Description of Module Assessment
1: Literature Review weighted 25%
LITERATURE REVIEW
Each student is assigned a peer-reviewed research paper relating to one of the module research topics. The critique involves analysis of the research paper from different perspectives including a critical summary of the science and the key findings in the paper, a retrospective search, citation analysis and journal evaluation (1500 words).
2: 2 Hour Unseen Exam weighted 75%
UNSEEN EXAM - 2 HOURS
Students are required to answer three questions from a selection reflecting the overall thematic content of the module.
Version: (1.06B) Updated: 02/Oct/2013

This document is the definitive current source of information about this module and supersedes any other information.