OVERVIEW

Latentiation and Retrometabolic Drugs Design is the discipline dealing with all the technological and scientific aspects indispensable in order to develop new prodrugs (also known as drugs latentiation) and new soft drugs and release chemical systems (both of them belong to Retrametabolic Drugs Design). Therefore in this course all the strategies carried out to optimize the therapeutic index of a new active ingredient, are exhaustively treated.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Providing students all the fundamental principles they need to know how to develop new drugs endowed with improved targeting, release and high therapeutic index.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Providing students all the fundamental principles about latentiation and retrometabolic drug design. At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• describe the main strategies to obtain chemical latent forms of new drugs

• describe the main strategies to design soft drugs and release chemical systems

• know the differences among prodrugs, soft drugs and release chemical systems.

PREREQUISITES

To completely understand all the topics treated in the course, students need to have already passed the following exams: organic chemistry; toxicological and medicinal chemistry I.

TEACHING METHODS

In case of particular situations, theoretical lessons may be held also online and they are aimed at simplifying the comprehension of the pharmaceutical topics treated. In this context the teacher supports particular closer examination of those topics particularly difficult to understand for students. Before starting a new lesson, to facilitate students to learn several connected chapters, a brief summing up of the previous lesson is carried out. 

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Definition of prodrug and analogue

Classification of prodrugs

Fortuitous and intentional prodrugs

Main problems leading to the design of prodrugs (with examples)

Definition of soft drug

Main categories of soft drugs (with examples)

Definition of release chemical system

Main categories of release chemical systems (with examples).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

A specific, designated book for this subject doesn't exist. The content of the course consists of topics put together properly by the teacher and deriving from updated and reliable reviews in the field of drugs latentiation and retrometabolic drug design. Each chapter is exaustively explained to students throughout the lessons and, for every chapter, comprehensive notes are available on Aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

BRUNO TASSO (President)

ELEONORA RUSSO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes usually start in the first academic half year with a weekly engagement of 1 lesson lasting 2 hours and set according to the professional errands of both students and teacher.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

In case of particular situations the exam may also be taken online, it is an oral exam and it lasts about 20 - 30 minutes for each students. Questions deal with 3 topics chosen by the teacher among the subjects treated during the course. 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Teacher assesses student's ability to both explain clearly all the topics treated in the course and write correctly chemical structures involved in the exam questions.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Throughout the course but also before exams, depending on student's request, the teacher is available to offer additional explanations about subjects discussed during the course and considered more difficult to learn by students.