Preface

This eBook was written as a textbook for a course in medicinal chemistry for students who have had freshman chemistry and organic chemistry. It can be used in standard courses for pharmacy students and for students who are trying to get into medical, dental, pharmacy or graduate school. Moreover, people working in the pharmaceutical industry and doctors preparing for Medical Board Exams will also find it useful. Since new drugs are being developed by multi-disciplinary teams, this eBook comprises a multi-disciplinary approach. Chemists, biologists, physicians, mathematicians, engineers and computer scientists will read some things that are familiar to them and they will learn about each other’s disciplines. It describes the new paradigm that is emerging in modern biology, biochemistry and medicine. It is a fusion of traditional and western medicine and between systems thinking and reductionist thinking. It tells how new drugs are investigated, developed and eventually approved by the FDA. Although most currently approved drugs were developed based on their abilities to affect a single therapeutic target, new drugs will affect many targets simultaneously. Instead of binding to the active site of a single enzyme, allosteric inhibitors will partially inhibit many targets simultaneously and have quite fewer harmful side effects. It also talks about high throughput screening and data mining to look for new chemical entities that might become new drugs. Drugs that target enzymes, membrane bound receptors, DNA, microtubules, RNA, ion pumps and transporters are described, along with ways to improve the lead compound through rational drug design. The eBook talks about cGMP, GLP and the regulatory process. It describes the analytical methods that are used to verify the productivity of right drug without any impurities. It also has chapters on toxicology, nutrition and dietary supplements. The importance of environmental toxins in autoimmune diseases is discussed. Practical advice is presented, especially when it needs to illustrate an interdisciplinary approach and unexpected connections. The role of environmental toxins, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOAA) in autoimmune diseases is discussed. It also includes descriptions of the basic science behind cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, infectious diseases, inflammation, reproductive medicine, the biology of information flow, the nervous system, immune network, vaccines, autopoiesis, systems biology and network theory. Finally, this eBook was written for the course I taught at Park University. The topics discussed in this eBook should not be taken as reflecting FDA policy or regulations.