LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to introduce the student to the synthesis techniques applied to the preparation of drugs.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

In particular, the student must acquire the ability to plan and implement the preparation of certain drugs by applying classic or innovative synthetic pathways (step-by-step, one pot, parallel synthesis, etc.). To apply the main isolation and purification methods of finished products from reaction mixtures, to characterize finished products through common analytical techniques. In addition, the theoretical notions concerning the synthetic methods applied, as well as the necessary and complementary activities of the synthesis (isolation, extraction, purification, anhydration, drying, etc.) will be required.

TEACHING METHODS

The lecturer will hold the frontal lectures in the classroom with the help of slides that will be made available to students for study at the end of each argument.
Exercises will be introduced by a brief lesson that will be held in the classroom or in the same workshop.
The exercises will be individual.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course consists of theoretical lessons and practical exercises. The 5 CFUs (60 hours of frontal learning engagement per student) will be divided into 20 hours of classroom lesson and 40 hours of laboratory exercise.
Theoretical lessons: Safety standards in the synthesis lab. The synthesis lab notebook. How to synthesize a drug. Reagents and solvents: choice, storage, use, disposal; The anhydrous solvents. Catalysts. Classic synthesis: the glassware and the main equipment used. Parallel synthesis and combinatorial synthesis: theoretical ideas and equipment. Microwave-assisted reactions: theoretical ideas and equipment. The reactions in the absence of solvent, theoretical considerations. Flow reactions, theoretical outlines and equipment. The purification techniques of reaction mixtures (solvent extraction, chromatographic separation, crystallization, distillation). The characterization of a "finished" compound: the analytical techniques used to determine structure and purity.
Exercises
Starting from the known drug structure, the student will be guided to plan a synthetic strategy based on the knowledge acquired in the courses of organic chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry. In addition, the student will be able to conduct online research on specialized databases to verify the existence of known procedures in the literature that can be applied to the lab. The designed synthesis will be carried out in the laboratory and the products obtained will be purified and characterized.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

There are no textbooks covering all the topics in a single volume and therefore the teacher prefers not to give specific indications and instead provide the tools needed by the students to find the necessary information to prepare the exam.

The documentation required for experiments will be provided through Aulaweb or in the laboratory. Any bibliographic information relating to the applied synthesis will be obtained through appropriate research on dedicated databases (SCIFINDER, Reaxys) and by the school library system.