Medicinal Chemistry

Medicinal chemistry is the chemistry discipline concerned with the design, development and synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs. The discipline combines expertise from chemistry and pharmacology to identify, develop and synthesize chemical agents that have a therapeutic use and to evaluate the properties of existing drugs. Medicinal Chemistry is a comprehensive and well illustrated presentation of the major areas of pharmaceutical drug research. It will be extremely useful as a textbook for pharmacy students and as an overview for research scientists entering the pharmaceutical industry. The book integrates the chemical and pharmacological aspects of drugs, and links the sciences of organic chemistry, biochemistry, and biology with the clinical areas of required for a thorough understanding of modern medicinal drugs. The treatment of pain and disease is one of the most important goals of humankind. Since ancient times people have been using potions, natural products and even the dust of mummies for the treatment of health problems. The healing effects of remedies were often ascribed to spirits and mythical entities, but some of the herbal preparations did possess curative properties. In the 1800's scientists began to investigate potions to determine what chemicals were present that could cause the observed healing. Thus, the early days of medicinal chemistry began with the study of naturally occurring materials that were effective in treating human disorders. The studies were tedious and required much sample purification and structure determination at a time when instrumental methods of analysis were unavailable. Also, screening methods for chemical efficacy against disease had to be developed so that humans were not used as trials. The book builds on the history of drug development, but does not assume much background knowledge. The focus is on building upon the understandings of the molecular function of drugs, and from there, taking a broad overview of the topical issues and most frequently used techniques.