Medicinal chemistry

• extraction and purification of natural plant compounds as possible active ingredients for medicines, using solvent extraction and distillation
  
  Lesson 1 Video worksheet - Separating techniques, solvent extraction and steam disitllation
  

• identification of the structure and functional groups of organic molecules that are medicines
• significance of isomers and the identification of chiral centres (carbon atom surrounded by four different groups) in the effectiveness of medicines
  
  Lesson 2 Video worksheet - Functional groups and stereospecificity in inetractions between drugs and biomacromolecules in the body.
  
  
• enzymes as protein-based catalysts in living systems: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structures and changes in enzyme function in terms of structure and bonding as a result of increased temperature (denaturation), decreased temperature (lowered activity), or changes in pH (formation of zwitterions and denaturation)
  
• medicines that function as competitive enzyme inhibitors: organic molecules that bind through lock-and-key mechanism to an active site preventing binding of the actual substrate
  
  Lesson 3 Video worksheet - Enzyme fubnctinality and medicines as competitive and non-competitive inhibitors.

Synthesis of Aspirin

Solvent extraction of capsaicin. Solution