James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2000

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PP3150:03

Chemical Pharmacology

Townsville

Prerequisites: BC2022 or BC2024

36 lectures, 24 hours practicals. First semester.

Staff: Dr A Nimmo.

The general principles of drug action, focussing on the major targets for drug action, drug-receptor interactions, chemotherapy, drug design, pharmacognosy and drug screening, toxicology and measurements in pharmacology.

Learning Objectives:

  1. how drugs are able to affect the functioning of living systems;
  2. how drug treatments may be aimed at specific targets, increasing the efficacy of treatment and reducing side effects;
  3. the principles of selective toxicity and the development of antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and cancer chemotherapy agents;
  4. the rationale behind drug formulations and different routes of administration, the time course of drug action, drug metabolism and toxicology;
  5. current approaches to the development of new pharmaceutical agents, including drug design, drug screening and natural product pharmacology.

Assessment by a three-hour examination (70%); written laboratory assignments (30%).


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