The course is developed with theoretical and practical lessons. The main topics of the course are focused on in silico evaluation of pharmacokinetic and safety properties of potential drug candidates, in order to identify the most promising and drug-like compounds along the drug discovery process.
The course aims to provide a basic understanding about the medicinal chemistry strategies as well as the computational methods exploring the pharmacokinetic profile of drug candidates in terms of bioavailability, ability to pass the blood brain barriers, drug distribution and metabolism. Evaluation of potential toxicity or safety profile of drugs are considered by means of computational methods.
The course consists of lectures and practical simulations focused on the available online resources and software to explore the main pharmacokinetic properties of drugs. The course aims to provide a basic understanding of the medicinal chemistry strategies to optimize the drug candidate bioavailability, metabolism and safety profile. In silico strategies allow to preliminary evaluate and assess the most drug-like derivatives thanks to prediction of the related pharmacokinetic parameters.
The course is developed with theoretical and practical lessons (8 hours).
Any Student with documented Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), or with any special needs, shall reach out to the Lecturer(s) and to the dedicated SLD Representative in the Department ( Prof. Luca Raiteri, Luca.Raiteri@unige.it ) before class begins, in order to liaise and arrange the specific learning methods and ensure proper achievement of the learning aims and outcomes. VERY IMPORTANT: any request for compensatory tools and adaptations in the exam MUST be done within 10 working days before the date of the exam according to the instructions that can be found at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/comunicazioni
Theoretical and practical topics
Computational methods to manage in silico drugs and biological targets.
Medicinal chemistry methods to optimize pharmacokinetic profile of drug candidates.
Database and online resources to explore proteins and drugs, as pharmacokinetic properties
in silico evaluation of the bioavailability and safety profile of drugs
In silico evaluation of drug binding to plasmatic proteins and cytochrome substrate/inhibitor ability
In silico prediction of toxicity events (hERG channel inhibition)
• Introduzione alla Chimica Farmaceutica, Seconda Edizione – Graham L. Patrick, EDISES
• Manuale di Chimica Farmaceutica- Progettazione, meccanismo d’azione e metabolismo dei farmaci, Richard B. Silverman, Mark W. Holladay - EDRA
• Chimica Farmaceutica-I processi di scoperta dei farmaci, Erland Stevens-PICCIN
Ricevimento: From Monday to Friday, by email appointment
BRUNO TASSO (President)
ELEONORA RUSSO (President Substitute)
In the second semester
Oral test
The examination includes an oral test and an evaluation of the student acquired ownership of the main computational strategies applied for preliminary assess the drug-like properties of potential drug candidates.
